Narcissus
by The Raven Dark Angel
Summary: I'm so sorry for overestimating you, Monk Boy. Helen Keller was actually SMART." "Someone has to be, if your world was filled with idiots like you." SanzoOC.
1. First Meetings

__

There was a boy

A very strange, enchanted boy

They say he wandered very far, very far

Over land and sea

A little shy, and sad of eye

But very wise was he

And then one day

One magic day he passed my way

And while we spoke of many things

Fools and kings

This he said to me

The greatest thing you'll ever learn,

Is just to love and be loved in return

…

It was a beautiful day.

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and everything was generally at peace with the world.

Well…almost.

"Damn it, if you jackasses won't shut the goddamn hell up, I'll give you a couple of new breathing holes!" An irate Sanzo barked, his trusty Smith and Wesson brandished at the two bickering people at the back of the jeep. They'd been going on for a good couple of minutes now, and Sanzo had decided that it was time for a good old-fashioned death threat to try to keep the noise at a bare minimum. Key word: Try.

Goku made a face at the handsome kappa, who was busy trying to give him a noogie prize. "This is your fault!"

"Yeah right, monkey boy. You were the noisy one!"

Bang.

"I SAID SHUT UP!"

"Hey! You almost shot me, you psycho!" Gojyo complained, checking to see if the bullet nailed any part of his clothes. That had really been a close one.

Sanzo scowled—well, scowled a little more. "If you don't shut up, I won't miss the next time!"

"Oh." Hakkai muttered. It was the only warning all three of them had before he stepped hard on the brakes, almost throwing them off the jeep.

"What the fuck—!" Of course, this could only come from Sanzo, who had to grab onto the back of the seat to stop from sailing over the two idiots in the back.

In front of them stood an annoyed Kanzeon Bosatsu and—

"Whoa, check out that babe. She's smokin'."

Trust Gojyo to notice the girl first.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sanzo demanded, his scowl not letting up. Normally when she turned up, chances are it would consist of nothing good. And judging from the girl the Goddess was currently keeping a tight rein on, it was definitely a bad thing.

"You're bringing her along." Kanzeon replied.

They all stared at Her as if She'd gone crazy. A girl!

"Me?" The girl sputtered, her tone on the edge of hysterical. Obviously she was sharing the same sentiment as the menfolk who were currently still in the jeep. "This is what Hecate's punishment is? Sit in a car with a bunch of walking fashion disasters? Eww! You can't lea—"

"No fucking way." Sanzo cut in, getting more pissed with each passing second. The Goddess jacked up his blood pressure to greater heights whenever he saw Her. And the girl looked like a total bimbo, a type of woman Sanzo really, really hated and would never bring on this journey even under the pain of death, especially if said bimbo was currently insulting him. "I've had enough of these three morons, and now you want me to bring an airhead along?"

"Excuse _you_, Mister Motormouth," the girl snapped irritably, obviously peeved that he'd interrupted on her rant. "Can't you see that _I'm_ talking here?"

Sanzo growled, completely taken aback at the insolent wench's remark. Needless to say he was also very, very pissed off. "Take that bitch home with you and leave us—"

"Silence!" Kanzeon snapped, a vein popping on her forehead. She was getting very tired of this. If it hadn't been for the favor that devious goddess friend of hers had called in, she wouldn't even BE here. This girl was the most infuriating, arrogant, shallow, and conceited human she had ever seen—which was saying a lot, considering her goddess status and all—and to have to punish her in any other way—ways that necessitated her being around the girl and having direct contact with her—would really, really tax on her nerves. In addition, dropping her off on the Sanzo-ikkou guaranteed that there would be a much better show to watch. Spice things up, so to speak. Their journey had been getting pretty boring lately, anyway.

One could only watch them slay youkai after youkai for a certain period of time without getting bored out of her mind.

__

If looks could kill, the Goddess thought idly, watching the blonde monk glare at the girl. _The girl would've been maimed and murdered five times over._

"Now, I'm not asking you. I'm _telling_ you." Kanzeon said in a much calmer tone. The faster she got this over with, the faster she could get back and watch them and NOT deal with HER anymore. There weren't many people who could annoy the Goddess, but this one certainly seemed to have an inborn talent to. _The chit can piss anyone off._ "Qing will be accompanying you on your journey until such time when her patron goddess decides to take her back, which I foresee will not be anytime soon."

The girl, for one, was already bored with the conversation and was much more interested in letting people know that she was actually _alive_ and_ here_. "Hello, can we focus on my pain here? Look at my nails! Miss Goddess here almost wrecked it!"

For a few seconds, everyone simply stared blankly at her.

"What?"

"_Man-i-cure. _As in, mine. She said slowly, as if they were all idiots. When no recognition dawned on either of their faces, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Then again, I wouldn't expect you people to understand." _I'm talking to a bunch of morons._

Kanzeon glowered at her, having had quite enough of her talking. "Unless you want me to strike you dumb, girl, hold your tongue."

Wide-eyed, she immediately fell silent.

"I'm not lugging along another annoyance. Especially this one." Sanzo gritted. He'd just met her and already he was wishing that she would just drop dead or something. This was most definitely a nightmare, and soon, very soon, he would wake up from this and never think about it again.

"You have no choice. Especially you, Sanzo. You owe me one for saving your life." The Goddess glared at him--clearly unhappy that she was wasting the favor he owed her for this slip of a girl--then turned to all of them. "She's in your hands now. And girl, perhaps it would teach you a lesson you're in sore need of learning." She threw a large, heavily gilded book at her carelessly.

Eyes widening, Qing moved to catch it before it could hit the floor. Now she really had to say something. "Hey, you can't just throw the Book at me like that!"

"Oh, now you care about whether it hits the ground or not?" If that wench had displayed that kind of behavior in the first place, there would be no need for her to be here. But no, she had to be extremely disrespectful and blasphemous and royally piss her own Goddess off, and because Kanzeon had owed said Goddess a huge favor, she had to teach this wench a lesson on Hecate's behalf. Urgh.

Qing glared at her, visibly upset. "You could've chipped my nail! It took me an entire MONTH for me to book that appointment with Jacques! I know you're not exactly House of Style here, but please _care_, okay? I hate wearing press-ons, I mean, they totally scream tasteless!"

Honestly, this girl made a mud puddle look as deep as an ocean.

It was a strange picture, a very pissed Kanzeon Bosatsu glowering at a beautiful young woman holding a large, ugly-looking book—she was most definitely glowering back—and four men in a jeep watching the exchange with slightly glazed eyes.

It was now that the Goddess had decided to remove herself from said picture before she fully lost her temper. "Good luck and have fun! Try not to get yourself killed, although that would be a relief."

And then she disappeared, shimmering into thin air.

"Hey, hey! Goddess! You can't leave me here! I don't want to be here!" Qing shouted, close to panicking when she realized it was for real. "Hello?"

"Then I suggest you learn quickly, witch." Came the voice.

Qing said something that was pretty much unprintable, then screamed up at the sky. "I am NOT a witch!"

Goku blinked. "Did the Goddess just call her a witch?" He'd never heard Kanzeon call people names before.

"I don't think She meant it as an insult, Goku." Hakkai said pleasantly, as if goddesses who dropped unknown girls on them were a normal occurence. "Well, I guess this is it, then. Another addition to the team."

"What exactly is a witch?" Goku asked, confused.

"Something I am so not." The girl replied snippily, shooting him a glare.

Gojyo was smirking. Personally, he had no problem with it, not when the girl in question was dressed in a purple sleeveless and silver-white Capri pants that revealed a lot of healthy, tanned skin he really, really wanted to get close to. Hell, he'd even volunteer to be her personal bodyguard and show her the sights, so to speak.

Sanzo, very much hating the fact that he was outmatched, simply grunted and sat back down, his current disposition closely resembling that of a thundercloud. Kanzeon—the bitch—could've just sent them a beautiful, quiet, non-annoying girl who could take care of herself, but no, that bitch had to give him an extremely annoying one who probably didn't know the first thing about defending herself from demons.

And so it was that on this beautiful day, the Sanzo-ikkou had acquired the newest, and possibly the most annoying member of their team, though they didn't exactly have much of a choice in that matter.

…

It was a bit of a squeeze at the back of the jeep, considering that Qing was wedged between Goku and Gojyo. Of course, the latter was definitely not complaining.

"Hey babe," he greeted, turning on the charm full-force. He'd definitely have her in his room tonight if he played his cards right. "Where are you from? You're dressed differently from most girls here."

She shot him a withering glance. "Don't call me babe. Babe is a pig. I am most definitely not a pig."

All right then. So she was of the Ice Queen status. Well, he could deal with that just fine. He grinned and leaned closer to her, his voice velvety. Mm, she smelt nice. "Apologies, beautiful. How would you like sharing a room with me tonight? It won't be safe if you get a room by your lonesome, especially with someone as breathtaking as you are."

"Aw, suck it up there, Cockroach Boy. I'm not having sex with you." Qing rolled her eyes. If she'd been anyone but her, she'd have jumped him long ago, considering how hot he looked, but the fact remained that she really, really didn't want to be here, and with that stupid book, of all things. Also, she was missing her daily essentials, which was enough to put her in a very bad mood.

From her other side, Goku guffawed. "There goes your date tonight, you pervert!"

"Hey, who're you calling pervert, monkey face?" Gojyo demanded.

"You, _Cockroach Boy_! You must be losing your touch, 'cause you can't even get a girl now!" Goku was clearly enjoying his defeat.

"Why you—!" The enraged half-breed reached over to try to strangle the laughing boy, but was interrupted by a hand on his chest, pushing him back.

"Hey, hey!" Qing snapped. "Keep your extreme oafishness off my clothes, all right? They're Gucci!"

"They're what?" Gojyo asked blankly.

"Gucci. It's a brand, genius. A symbol of taste and elegance."

"Unfortunately you don't do it any justice." Sanzo remarked acidly, puffing on his cigarette.

"Said the man who gives fashion tips to monks. Yeah, that's a reliable source of information." Came the contemptuous response. "You wouldn't know taste even if it bonked you on the head."

"Actually, he really is a monk." Hakkai cut in before a pissed Sanzo could retaliate. "One of the most esteemed, at that."

"Puh-lease. Tell it to someone who'll believe it. What kind of monk smokes, carries a gun and swears?"

"This one, apparently." The mild-mannered young man replied, very much amused.

"Why'd you have to go and tell her that for? It's not like it's any of her business." Sanzo snapped irritably. He didn't care much for what he thought—if she thought at all—but if that wench went on talking he was going to have to kill something.

Preferably her.

She blinked and raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "You're kidding. You really are a monk!"

"What's that to you?" he growled.

"You should be classified as the eighth wonder of the world. The world's first chain-smoking, foul-mouthed monk."

"If you don't shut the hell up, wench, I'm going to kill you."

She crossed her arms over her chest despite herself. "I'd like to see you try."

An instant later, she was staring down the barrel of a gun. The blackness of the barrel seemed to be endless. And then there was the fact that he moved so fast she almost couldn't see him. Covering her flinch, she decided that looking down the barrel of the gun wasn't entirely not scary, but she would be damned if she let him see her fear. "Would you like me to pull the trigger?" he snapped angrily, having had quite enough of her.

"Hey man, don't—" Gojyo hurriedly tried to step in, not wanting to see the man blow half her face off or something.

"Do it, and I'll come back and haunt you and make your life totally miserable."

"Ghosts are easily exorcised. Have you forgotten what I am?"

She brandished the heavy book like a weapon. "Hello, witchy powers! You don't know what I'm capable of! I don't even know what _I'm_ capable of!" Okay, so her powers weren't totally apparent—try almost nonexistent, considering she couldn't even do a simple spell. _Not like I even want to, anyway.—_but a girl had to try. And hoped that he didn't know she was lying through her teeth.

He glared at her.

She glared right back, wishing very much that she had the power to make his head implode or turn him into a turtle. Or something. From beside her, Gojyo laughed, slinging a casual arm over the seat behind her. "You've got spunk, beautiful! I like you." He winked, an action that would have countless of women falling at his feet. He really was an attractive man, Qing realized. All of them were.

Qing preened, soaking up the compliment. "Thank you."

Okay, so the walking fashion disaster thing was grating on her nerves, considering that she knew she looked like she'd just stepped out from one of the pages of _W_, and would never be seen within a half-mile radius of them had she a choice. No matter how cute they are.

But she could not deny that they were heart-stoppingly gorgeous, especially the guy who was sitting right next to her and the crazy monk who'd just put a gun in her face. Hell, even Goku was handsome, for a boy.

"You got a death wish, Redhead?" Sanzo snarled, leveling his gun at the kappa hanyou, who backed away almost immediately.

"Hey, what'd I do?"

"Shut up!"

"Gentlemen, lady, I believe we have some trouble coming our way." Hakkai interrupted calmly, glancing ahead. And true to his words, there were a whole herd of demons gleefully heading their way; their delighted cries could be heard from a mile away.

Qing, for one, froze to her seat in terror. The noise was nothing short of bloodcurdling. "Trouble?" she squeaked, eyes wide. It sounded like really, really major trouble.

Goku grinned. "Finally, a chance to stretch! It's getting pretty cramped in here."

Gojyo sighed, bored. "They really need to do something more original."

Sanzo simply grunted.

Qing grabbed onto Gojyo's arm, her eyes making out the form of really ugly, really evil looking demons. "Demons? Why the hell are there _demons_? Oh my God, oh my God!"

"Easy there, beautiful. I won't let them hurt you," Gojyo comforted the terrified young woman, relishing his current position as protector. There was a beautiful woman to protect and demons whose asses needed a very good kicking. All in all, it was a very wonderful scenario.

"Useless." Sanzo snorted. He was right, the newest addition to the team really was pathetic. He wasn't sure how long it would be before he threw her out or offed her.

Hakkai stopped the jeep, and Qing turned on him hysterically. "Why did you stop for? Keep driving! They're gonna kill us! Especially _me_!"

"Shut the hell up, wench." The annoyed monk snapped brusquely.

"Stay in the car, Miss Qing." Hakkai smiled as the menfolk got out of the car and taking up positions in front of it, anticipating a good fight. "You'll be safe there."

"What does it look like I'm doing!" she could barely take her eyes off the demons. God, they were ugly and downright horrifying. "And what kind of jeep is this? There's no cover! How am I supposed to be safe?"

"Shut up, stupid woman! How many times do I have to tell you?" Sanzo barked, rapidly reaching the end of his tether when it came to her. Gods, can she be any more grating?

"Ah, Sanzo and company!" the biggest demon out of the lot grinned, showing a lot of very, very sharp teeth. Triumphantly, he turned to his lot. "The meat of Sanzo and his crew, who says I don't deliver, boys?"

The demons cheered, all brandishing their weapons and equally sharp teeth.

Qing screamed, cowering in terror. "Oh God! They're gonna eat me!"

Sanzo fired a shot in her general direction and bellowed. "Shut the hell up, all right?"

Pale and shaking, a dazed Qing nodded meekly. "Okay."

Gojyo smirked, his shakujou already in hand. "Let's see if you can still cheer when we're done with you boys."

"Yeah, let's see what's you've got!" Goku added with a wide grin, cracking his knuckles as his Nyoyi staff appeared. "I've been aching for a good workout for ages!"

Hakkai was smiling, very much amused. "They're really enthusiastic about this."

Sanzo only grunted, still scowling.

Qing was wigging out, almost on the verge of tears now. "God, why did I let you freaks talk me into this?"

And then the battle was on.

The demons numbered maybe seventy, eighty, and each one of them had their hands full. Blasting a demon to oblivion, it was getting increasingly clear that there was no way they could fight and look after the girl at the same time; they were used to watching each other's backs, and her appearance threw things off balance. Hakkai turned to a petrified Qing, who looked as white as sheet and about to pass out or something.

"Miss Qing!" He shouted. "Drive!"

"What?"

"Drive! You're going to get hurt if you stay here!"

Gojyo swung his shakujou, cutting through a couple of pesky demons.

Crawling into the driver's seat, she released the brakes and stepped on the accelerator, her heart pounding crazily. She had to get out of here, fast, before she became demon meat. Self-preservation was her only thought—well, besides the fact that she really had to take care not to wreck her freshly done manicure. If it chipped, someone was definitely going to pay.

She screamed as something grabbed her neck from behind, but gagged even as it cut off her air supply. In the rearview mirror, Qing was treated to a close up of one of the ugliest demons she'd ever seen, which wasn't a stretch , considering this was the first time she'd seen a demon. It was the color of a fish's underbelly, with glowing red eyes and a sucker-like mouth. The arm that was currently wrenched tight against her throat seemed to be of a sickening green color.

__

Ohmygod, ohmygod, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die… "Help!" she managed to croak, flailing hopelessly against her captor. "Somebody help me!"

The monster laughed, the sound of silk tearing on a knife. "Such delicious fear, my dear. I believe I'm going to enjoy playing with you before I devour your flesh."

It's scaly hand crept down towards her chest as it rubbed itself against her. "Hey, ewww!" She shrieked, completely grossed out now. It was one thing to be eaten, and another thing entirely to be felt up by a disgusting demon. If she lived through this, she was definitely going to be sick. And then she realized he was _this_ close to violating her privacy. With an angry snarl, she gouged her perfectly manicured nails deep into it's arm before it could reach her chest. "Don't even _go_ there, you disgusting pervert."

The thing screamed in pain and let go.

Feeding on her fear, Qing slammed her foot on the accelerator, speeding towards the group, then a few meters away, she jammed on the brakes. With an angry screech, the jeep halted, sending the thing sailing over her head to land on the road in front of her. It was then that she glanced down at her hands. "Oh my God! Eww, _ewww_!" she cried in dismay and disgust. Green goo stained her fingernails, wrecking her beautiful, beautiful silvery-blue nail polish, the one color she ever really liked. Then she glared at the demon, who was growling and starting to get up.

"You are going to pay for that!"

"It took me a WHOLE MONTH to get this done, Sucker Boy!" she screamed at it furiously, brandishing her damaged nails at it. "And now look at what you've done! God, can't you have less icky blood?"

This was the last straw. First it rubbed it's filthy skin against her, then it tried to molest her, and now this. Not forgetting the fact that it said it wanted to eat her.

There was now no more fear—not very much, anyway—considering that Qing now was out for blood. "I am SO going to kick your ugly butt, you freakazoid. _No one messes with the nails."_

The jeep sped forward, crashing into the monster and sending it flying a few feet away, landing a little way away from a currently trigger-happy Sanzo, who had been watching the entire exchange out of the corner of his eye. It was nothing short of astounding and mind-boggling, and he hated it.

She sped up, and this time she rolled over it, feeling the sick crunch of bones as she flattened the monster. She fought the urge to throw up.

"Ugh, eww… I'm going to need intensive therapy when I'm through with this." She complained, trying valiantly to wipe her nails against the dashboard of the jeep. She caught sight of another demon making a beeline for her and narrowed her eyes, previous action forgotten.

"Oh no you don't, pus face." She stepped on the accelerator again, sending it flying a good few meters away this time. Hmm, one could really get used to this. She didn't stop there, however. Realizing that there was a way for her to kick demon ass without getting herself damaged in the process, she drove around them and rolled over those who weren't really dead. She was currently beyond fear, in a strange place where everything suddenly just becomes surreal and you're working on autopilot.

Besides, there were people to save. It was not like they mattered very much to her, but someone had to drive the car and get to wherever they were going. And it most definitely was not going to be her. Also, she had a niggling feeling that demons were a regular occurrence, so she couldn't let those guys die. Who would help her then?

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Goku yelped and jumped out of the way when the jeep swung dangerously close to where he was whacking the stuffing out of a particularly annoyed demon.

She ran over one who was about to leap onto Sanzo and almost ran him over in the process. "Don't make me shoot you, wench!" the pissed-off monk snarled, jumping back.

Qing tossed her mane of dark hair angrily, shooting him a venomous look. "Listen up, Monk Boy, I am not a wench! Is this what you say to someone who saved your life?"

"Bullshit! I don't need someone like you to help me! And what the hell did you just call me!"

"Are you deaf? I just called you Monk Boy! Be happy I called you that, 'cause you're definitely not acting like one!"

"That is none of your fucking business!" Another bullet through a demon's skull. Sanzo really, really needed to kill some more demons, if not he would just march over and wring her pretty little neck.

"Like I care anyway!"

"Then why is your damn mouth still fucking moving!"

"Why is _yours_?"

"Because I'm telling you to shut up before I put a bullet in that little brain of yours!"

"Well, at least I've got one! God, can you be any more Neantherdal?"

"If you want to live long enough to find out, shut your damned trap!"

"Bite me!"

"They can even bicker like that when they're fighting?" Goku grunted as he whacked another couple of demons.

"She's definitely gifted in making Sanzo mad, isn't she?" Hakkai agreed, getting rid of another bunch of demons. They were finishing them off pretty quickly. He had never seen anyone—not even Gojyo or Goku—quarrel with him like that. Usually Sanzo just had to brandish his gun and the argument would be settled, but apparently the girl seemed to have some kind of immunity or it, or else she was just very quarrelsome.

"Are you two going to keep answering questions with questions?" Gojyo asked, breezily putting the kibosh on the last three demons. Despite his tone, he was grinning. Ahh, there was nothing like a good workout to raise his spirits and try to snare the feisty new arrival again. She had spirit, that one. Any other girl who was like her would've fainted long ago.

…

"You did very well, princess." Gojyo drawled a little later as they resumed their journey. "Considering it's your first time seeing demons and all."

"That was definitely _not_ in my job description." Qing snapped, reaching into her purse for another wad of tissues. She was never going to get this mess off. She looked up at the sky and shouted. "You hear that, Goddess? I'm not here to kill demons! That demon just molested me! What kind of punishment is this?"

The amused laugh of the Goddess resounded around them. "But that's what punishment is, isn't it? Ninety-nine percent of pain, fear and suffering."

"You couldn't have told me that ninety-nine percent ago?" _Sadistic bitch._ See how she'd like it if she had demon blood stuffed up her nails.

There was no answer. Well, it wasn't like she expected one, or anything. Her heart was still pumping irregularly, and she still couldn't stop trembling, no matter how much she tried to hide it by vigorously wiping at her nails.

"Are you all right, Miss Qing?" Hakkai asked, glancing at her through the rearview mirror. Despite everything, she looked a little on the peaky side. He'd seen how she drove, and all he could think about was how the others had commented about how HE drove. If they thought he was a maniac, just look at her.

"Other than scarred for life, I'm just fine."

"You're still shaking," Gojyo—never missing a chance to comfort a gorgeous member of the female species, no matter how self-involved they were—put a little more than comforting arm around her shoulders. "Come on, beautiful, it's all right now. It's over."

"I'll be fine. The shaking's just a side effect of the mind-numbing terror."

"Are you hurt anywhere, though?" he winked, noticing that she made no move to dislodge herself from him. "I can kiss and make it better, if you like."

Sanzo simply snorted, having had quite enough of the perverted kappa fawning all over her as if she was some kind of precious jewel or something. It was annoying. "Don't baby her, Redhead." Then he glared at her. "Stop being so useless, wench."

Qing shrugged off Gojyo's arm, deeply offended. No one, NO ONE called her useless and got away with it. Qing knew what she was and what she wasn't, and she definitely was NOT going to let this crazy monk judge her, of all people. "Excuse you," she said icily. "Did you see me squish those demons, or are you too fixated on your homicidal tendencies to notice? And for your information, I am NOT useless!"

"You were screaming and crying like a pathetic idiot. Somehow that seems to destroy the credibility of your convictions."

She glared at him. "It was my first time seeing a whole horde of demons, all right? So just back off and cut me some slack. I bet you weren't so entirely unafraid of your first demon too, were you?"

"At least I wasn't screaming. Or crying, for that matter."

"The last time I checked, you weren't a woman."

"That is not going to make a difference to a demon either way." He retorted coldly, letting her know just what he thought about her, which wasn't very much, to speak the truth.

He was right. She hated it. Gritting her teeth in anger, she simply looked away, unable to find a comeback for that. God, how she hated this annoying, obnoxious, psychopathic monk.

__

I'll show that jerk. Man, am I so gonna show him I'm not some pathetic damsel in distress.

…

"About time we got off." Qing muttered as they came to a stop in a village. "The stupid wind was seriously messing up my hair."

"Pity it didn't blow you off." Sanzo replied darkly as they got out of the vehicle. For one, he would definitely not be sad to see her go. Really. "It would've been a much better option."

"We all have our dreams." Came the sarcastic response.

"We'll have to stay here for the night and load up on supplies," Hakkai remarked casually, glancing around. It was definitely one of the better villages they'd seen; there were more food shops, for one. "You will need clothes, Miss Qing. It won't be good for you to travel in that."

"What's wrong with this?" she demanded testily, daring him to mock her outfit.

He was still smiling. "Nothing is wrong, but I don't believe this particular getup is suited for long-distance travelling."

Well, that made sense. Her Italian sandals were already beginning to sting, and the way the villagers were looking at her was just plain unnerving. They were all dressed drabbily, as if they'd never seen a decent designer outfit in their entire lives. Which, judging from the condition of this place, it was highly likely. And then she realized what he was saying, and stared at him as if he'd just dared her to strip naked and run around the town twice. "You mean I'm going to have to buy my clothes in this dump? No way."

"Take it or leave it. I don't care." Sanzo snapped coldly as he marched into the nearest inn. He had never seen anyone as obnoxious and aggravating as she was, and he really hoped he would never meet anyone even remotely like that again.

"Why worry, beautiful?" Gojyo shrugged casually, slipping an arm around her waist. "Anything would look stunning on you."

"I know that. It's the quality of the clothes. And look at them. If I'm going to have to wear anything like theirs…" the thought was too horrible to contemplate.

She winced, thinking about the hands that wove the clothes. They would most likely belong to really, really old women who had never touched water for the past decade or something. Urgh. But then again, there was no way she was going to be wearing this outfit again. It would be against all laws of God and Man. So that only left one option.

She looked down unhappily at the Book of Spells she was holding. "If I knew you were gonna be so much trouble, I would've thrown you into a bonfire a long time ago."

…

"I don't believe this!" Qing hissed, flouncing out of the inn with an amused Hakkai, Gojyo, and a very hungry Goku in tow. "I'm supposed to share a room with _four_ guys!"

"The innkeeper said that there weren't enough rooms, Miss Qing," Hakkai responded, ever the patient one. "So we're going to have to share…"

"Not enough rooms? _Not enough rooms?_ Just who comes to this kind of place, may I know?" she demanded, tossing her hair imperiously. "And the way that idiot looked at me just now, does he think I'm a hooker or something?"

Gojyo's smile became slightly wider. "Look at it this way, you won't run the risk of being raped at night if you were with us. Besides, the nights are chilly, it'd be better if you had someone to get warm with."

She shot him a disbelieving look. "God, is having sex all you can think about?"

"Of course not." He grinned roguishly, tracing light fingers over her cheek, leaning suggestively towards her. "There's how to seduce beautiful ladies like you, for one."

This time, she leaned forward and smiled enticingly, knowing that no normal red-blooded guy would be able to resist her when she acted all sex-kitteny like this. "Flattery will get you anywhere, Gojyo." He leaned in further, wondering if he'd just scored with her, but then she suddenly pushed him away. "Except into my bed."

Gojyo face-vaulted. And he had been so close, too. He sighed. "I thought so."

There was a pause before he smirked and tried again. "That's not going to make me give up anytime soon, you know. A woman like you is definitely worth waiting for."

She shrugged. "I thought so."

It wasn't entirely a bad thing, having a hottie like him fawn all over her. At least he could help with the shopping bags, and it was very gratifying for the prom queen in her. So, two birds with one stone and all that.

"I'm hungry," Goku whined, bored with the way the conversation was going. It wasn't going to meander in the general direction of food anytime soon, and he tuned out as soon as he realized that fact. Besides, the girl was just confusing. How could anyone be so picky was beyond him; just give him a bed and lots of food and he was happy. What was wrong with her? Then again, she was a _girl,_ and girls were incomprehensible as a general principle, so it was a waste of time to even try to understand how they thought. "Can we go and eat first or something? I can eat fifty cows, the way my stomach is feeling now!"

"You guys go ahead. I'll just…uh, look around for clothes." Qing wrinkled her nose in abject distaste as she surveyed her less than pristine surroundings, silently wondering how the hell she could ever make it through this. Demons aside, the lack of style was going to kill her. Ah well, it seemed like she was going to have to keep up the style all by herself.

"It won't be a good idea for you to wander off alone, Miss Qing. You might get lost. Furthermore, how are you going to pay for the clothes?"

Qing frowned and dug into her purse. "Do they take American Express?"

They all stared at her blankly.

"Mastercard? Visa?" she waved it around.

"They don't accept those here," Gojyo said, sidling up to her, flashing Sanzo's credit card. "But no worries, I've got the answer to all your problems."

"Hey, how are we supposed to eat if we don't have the card?" Goku exclaimed, upset that his lunch was about to be pushed back.

"You eat so much, Monkey Boy, it's gonna take a hell of a long time! Just go there, eat and wait for us to come back!" Gojyo called as a delighted Qing dragged him away.

…

It's already nightfall, Hakkai thought, glancing outside the tavern for the millionth time, unable to fight a wave of worry. _Where are they?_ It had been seven hours since they'd last seen Miss Qing and Gojyo, and he wondered if they had run into any trouble along the way. Goku was still eating, for one, and was very close to wiping out the entire tavern's food supply. The owner had been very happy with the income it generated, though. He sighed, Goku was really going to cost them.

Suddenly, the tavern door opened and a glowing Qing and a large pile of bags walked in. "Hey guys!"

"Hello, Miss Qing." Hakkai stood up, the epitome of courtesy. "Just in time, we were getting worried."

Qing slid into a seat that looked like it was most unscarred and gingerly sat down. "I had to spend a few hours just looking for a shop that doesn't scream Salvation Army." She said archly. "Shopping is an art, not a chore you know."

They stared at her, uncomprehending. She just sighed and tossed her hair. "Forget it. Is there anything to eat?" She looked down at the table and made a face. "Ewwww, is this place even sanitary?"

"You want a bowl of ramen? These are good." Goku spoke through a mouthful of noodles even as the pile of bags fell away to reveal the haggard, weary form of Sha Gojyo, who sat down heavily on the seat and exhaled loudly.

The youkai stared at the amount of bags in amazement. Seven hours, and she'd already bought so much?

"The six bags are all the supplies we need." Gojyo said tiredly as Qing called for the waiter. "The other fifteen belongs to Qing. Damn it, I really didn't know that women needed so many things to keep themselves pretty. And they don't even contain the clothes."

"What?"

"Yeah." He rubbed at his eyes tiredly. "She insisted on getting all of hers tailor made, so we're gonna have to pick it up tomorrow when we leave. Damn, I have never been so exhausted in my entire life. We just traipsed more than twenty-four shops—Hell, I didn't even know there were that many shops here, and she went for a facial while I picked up all the things we needed." He lit a cigarette, inhaled, and exhaled deeply. "Shopping really is hell."

"Ah, at least it gained her favor, yes?" the other man pointed out gently, an amused look on his face. The girl had just run Sha Gojyo—the man with boundless energy—ragged within seven hours. Sanzo would be pleased. Well, if he wasn't trying to kill her, of course. He knew that Sanzo hated the fact that Kanzeon Bosatsu had as good as bullied him into taking in a new arrival—especially someone as…different…as Qing. Of course, Qing was not exactly trying her best to be at least likable, which only made things a lot worse. He was lucky he had a high tolerance level, or else his blood pressure would hit the roof.

"I dunno. She's an unpredictable one, but signs are favorable. It's not like I can muster the energy to do anything now, even if I wanted to." Then he turned and shouted. "Waiter! Two bowls of ramen here!"

…

Edited! Whaddya think so far? Leave me a message!


	2. Qing

Hey all! Many thanks for those who read my story and reviewed! This is a redone version of the second chapter, because I thought that the earlier posted one was kind of stilted…

****

Spinereader: Hello! LOL you thought she resembled Cordelia too, huh? I didn't know anyone else thought so! Many thanks for your kind review, anyway! Grr, I think I need a beta reader.

Setine: I'm glad you liked it!

Esthered: Hey there! I'm glad you liked this story. Oh, the real pain comes in much later. I wonder what being subjected to more than ten hours of Qing is like? Hmmm…

Kris: Hee, thanks for your review, I shall do better!

As it was, Sanzo and Qing had the two single beds in the room—Qing being a lady and therefore had the priority, and no one was really up for an up close and personal meeting with the business end of Sanzo's gun—Goku slept on the makeshift mattress, and Hakkai and Gojyo slept on the floor. The blonde priest had been in a very bad mood ever since they returned and had turned in almost immediately, threatening to kill anyone who disturbed him. Of course, Gojyo and Goku ignored him and played a rowdy round of poker before the annoyed priest threatened to put entire rounds of bullet holes into them if they didn't go to sleep.

Qing had been flitting in and out of the room—having borrowed one of Gojyo's spare shirts and pants, both of which were loose enough for sleeping in—searching for teabags, tea leaves that were wrapped in very thin paper, and putting them on her eyes. Hakkai supposed it was some kind of bizarre ritual, though she said that it was to soothe puffy eyes. Sanzo had made a sarcastic comment at that, and off they went until he threatened to shoot her if she didn't shut up.

It was very entertaining.

But now, deep in the night, the youkai could not get to sleep. Now that there were six of them instead of five, a lot of adjustments had to be made. Once again, he wondered if this was a test Kanzeon Bosatsu had given to them. If so, what kind of a test was it? Maybe for Sanzo, it was to test his patience, but what about the rest of them? And what had Qing done to warrant such a thing? The Goddess had mentioned something about a 'patron goddess' being Her friend…who was it? It was all very puzzling, and it seemed like the self-centered young lady was not interested in giving them any details. And then there was that fact that there would actually be yet another person to protect.

He heard the faintest creak of the bedsprings and soft footsteps. A few seconds later, the balcony door slid open. Sitting up, Hakkai made out Qing's form as she slipped past the door.

__

Maybe there's more to her than we think, he thought as he followed her. Well, there was only one way to find out.

She was seated on the chair, the large book the Goddess had thrown to her earlier was on her lap, fingers tracing the ornate patterns on the cover.

"You shouldn't be out here, Miss Qing. It gets awfully chilly at night."

Qing jumped; she hadn't heard him enter. "Hakkai?"

He smiled as he shut the door behind him. "Can't sleep?" Of course, it was a gently prying question as to what was bugging her, but of course, Qing did not get it, being very much deprived in the subtle hints department, amongst others.

"When they are snoring like bears back there?" she sneered, looking at him as if he was stupid. "I'd rather freeze out here in silence." Then she glanced at him. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Do pardon my forwardness. I was just wondering about you." The best way to get answers out of her was to be straightforward, he realized. Unlike the rest of her gender, she didn't seem to see the need for subtlety. Or tact, for that matter.

"About what?"

He smiled slightly and gestured to the book. "You seem to be very attached to this."

Her brilliant blue eyes darkened. "Excuse me, for your information, I really don't care about it. I would really prefer it if it got burnt to cinders so I won't have to bother, but since it's here I might as well. Who knows what that crazy Goddess would do to me if I set fire to it?" she shot a scathing look at the heavens.

Hakkai watched her a moment. Despite her cavalier tone, he sensed that there was something deeper than that.

"I don't believe this," she went on. "One day I'm just enjoying the best manicure session of my life and planning to drop by Louis Vuitton to see their latest shipment of handbags, and the next I'm here in a land with strange people and demons. Don't forget the almost dying." She held out her hands disgustedly. "And my manicure. I mean, I had to remove the nail polish because the disgusting goo just _won't_ come off, and now I'm back at square one. I'm not even at square one now; I'm at square minus a million. I've got no clothes, I'm stuck in here for no reason other than pissing my goddess off, and _nothing_ is working out!"

He sat quietly, listening. He didn't understand half the things she said, but it seemed to have a lot to do with her clothes and outward appearance. How anyone can spend so much energy and time on their appearance baffled him. Nevertheless, he ventured. "It's not so bad, Miss Qing. I'm sure there will be many things you will be able to do here."

"What, besides being afraid and dying?"

__

So she can feel fear, after all. He had really been beginning to wonder if she ever thought of anything besides herself. Still smiling serenely, he looked up at the sky. "You won't die, Miss Qing, not while we're here. Your Goddess sent you here for a reason, didn't she? I don't think she wanted you to die if she sent you to us. I believe that there is something that your Goddess wanted you to learn, nonetheless."

Qing thought about that for a moment. She was not feeling better, but it was a start. A very tiny start. "Did you come out here just to make me feel better?"

"It seems like you are going to be travelling with us for a period of time. I believe it would be better if we knew more about you."

"What am I, some kind of experiment?"

He laughed softly. "No, of course not. It just seems to be the…socially polite thing to do."

She took that in, then stared at him. "Do you _ever _stop smiling?"

It was one question he had never expected her to ask. At least not so soon, anyway. "I beg your pardon?"

"You. With the smiling. It's just unnatural. I mean, you guys are just so weird. One is a pervert, the other is a homicidal psycho who has all the emotional intelligence of a dinosaur, one behaves like a kid, and you're like the Jolly Green Giant, only you're not green or giant-sized. It's like crossing over _Barney _with _Angel _or something." She tilted her head and surveyed him critically. The bonds between the four of them were obvious even to her, and it was puzzling as to how four very, very different people managed to tolerate each other. Well, there was technically five, since she just found out that the Jeep was a small white dragon. She had never seen dragons in her life before, but he was cute, if only a little on the scrawny side. She supposed these people never fed him very well or something, judging from his size.

He smiled patiently, vaguely amused that Qing had found him…unnatural and had said it straight to his face. If she knew about him, maybe she would understand, but now was not the time for tales, and he wasn't sure if she would care, anyway. "We all have our stories, Miss Qing, and we have been through a lot together." If only she knew about some of the adventures they had…

__

Stories, huh? She vaguely remembered the not-her-patron-goddess telling her something about them. It seemed like they all had pretty tragic pasts and all. There even were elaborations, a getting-to-know them Cliff Notes version, but she hadn't been paying attention; she had been more focused on majorly wigging out and trying to get out of there. All she pretty much knew was that with the exception of Sanzo, the rest were not fully human. It didn't matter anyway, they all looked like they were in a desperate need of a fashion consultant, so they were all pretty much equally distressing.

__

I guess that's what makes people come together, geeks, nerds, weirdos, cool people. People gravitate towards the people who are similar to them. The thought made her freeze. _Wait, does that mean I have something in common with them? Okay, now that is just way freaky. There is NO way I am like them. There's my fashion style, for example; at least I'm not chronically mismatched. I'm not crazy, either. Or a pervert, or totally immature._

Nonetheless, there was just something about them that she automatically felt comfortable with, and she chalked it up to the fact that they were the ones who would get her through this entire ordeal whole, healthy, and sane. And everything she loved about herself.

When there was no response from her, he glanced down at the object of his curiosity and asked the question that had been bugging him for hours now. "Pardon me for asking this, but what book is that?"

"A guidebook." She said shortly.

"Guidebook?"

"Yeah. Idiot's guide on how to become a freak." She didn't understand why Hecate was so touchy. Heck, said goddess mostly ignored her for 18 years, and it was _now_ that she had to make an appearance and be all offended about the fact that she would rather be in Hell than become a type of freak she'd spent most of her junior high and high school years actively alienating? She did not claw her way to the top of the social ladder for nothing, thank you very much. Furthermore, her foster parents would surely spaz if they found out. It was not like she owed anything to her real family, anyway.

Hakkai frowned, and she flipped open the book to show him, careful not to touch the old pages any more than necessary. She had enough dirt on her hands as it was.

He stared down at the unfamiliar writing, perplexed. "These are…guides?"

"Yeah."

"This is why your goddess threw you in here? You refused to become a freak?" He was beginning to think that her goddess was probably in the wrong. Who would throw their followers into another dimension just to turn them into a…freak? He wasn't sure what a freak was in her context, but judging from her attitude it definitely was not good.

She tossed her hair and shut the book. "She's not my goddess, but yeah, she did. Like I will ever want to become one, anyway." She snorted. "A witch. Would you look at that."

__

She thinks being a witch is a freak? He thought in surprise. He hadn't seen many witches along the way, but he knew what they were, powerful beings who worked within the framework of the world, part of the cosmic stream of magic.

Qing, however, was having very different thoughts. Hecate had also said something about self-actualizing, but she had suspected that all the goddess wanted to do was to get rid of her. _I mean, look at me, how much more self-actualized can I get?_

She was stunningly beautiful, and she knew it. She also knew how to use it to get what she wanted, and that was all that mattered, wasn't it? That was the way the world worked, not some crap fairytale fight of good versus evil and blah, blah, blah. Who cared about good or evil anymore? It was all about knowing the right people, looking good, and getting what you wanted. Magic? Oh, please. Like _that_ would solve anything.

She was confused and angry and off-balance, and all she wanted was to go home, back to the home she knew. She knew nothing here, and she almost got _killed_, for God's sake. She was frightened, and she hated that feeling. Back in her home, she was the queen, her friends listened to her every word, the guys scurried around to do her bidding; she was the one who set the trends, but here, now…it was like she was nothing.

It was a horrible thought.

She was stuck in this awful place, and it was all Hecate's fault, who just _had_ to turn her glamorously perfect life upside down and expect her to take it in stride.

She sighed. "I want to go home, Hakkai. This place is just so weird. I mean, I've never killed anything in my life before, and suddenly I've got to kill demons to survive? What is wrong with this picture?"

Briefly, Hakkai wondered what it was like for Qing, who lived in a world without demons. If things had been different, if there were no demons in _this _world…

__

Stop thinking that way. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. "We'll get you home." He promised.

"You'd better. I'll keep bugging you if you don't." She paused and gave him a rare smile that, for once, was not a prelude to a grimace or a sneer. "Oh, and um…thanks."

He was pleasantly surprised. Somehow she did not strike him as a girl who would mind her P's and Q's. "Whatever for?"

"For listening. No one ever does that here." She thought about it for a moment. "Actually, it never really happens from where I come from, either. Nevermind."

"You're welcome." Hakkai had to suppress a smile. Finally, he was getting _somewhere. _And it seemed like he had been correct, there _was_ more to her than she'd let on.

"Oh no!" she jumped up in horror, hands flying to her cheeks. The weather here, unlike back home, was dreadfully dry, and she'd forgotten to do one crucial thing. "I forgot to moisturize!" Dropping the heavy book on her chair, she raced into the room, muttering woefully about premature aging and dehydration.

Hakkai sighed. _Maybe not. _He glanced at the cover of the book. _A witch, huh? That should be interesting._

…

It was just past midday, and the group were on their way to the next town. Qing had finally gotten all the things she'd needed, and had even acquired a bow and a large quiver of arrows as a weapon. Guns were out of the question because she didn't want to turn all homicidal—and frankly, they scared her—and she would never hear of a sword or anything that would bring her within a one mile radius of a disgusting demon, which she openly announced that she hated, and that the only good demon was a dead one, present company excluded.

Also, a bow and arrow was the _only_ thing she knew how to use, thanks to the countless grueling practice sessions her foster father had put her through a few years ago.

To her annoyance, there weren't any makeup shops in that dump, and so she had settled down in the Jeep to file her nails. She was knew she was a vision in a crop top and pants, and looked for all the world like she was on a vacation to Paris than anything with her Oakley sunglasses perching comfortably on her hair.

And at least she wasn't as irritable as yesterday, although her earlier incessant nattering about shopping, fashion, and her responsibility to less fashion-conscious individuals almost drove Sanzo over the bend—Hakkai had an incredible amount of tolerance for her, Gojyo had been too busy planning his next strategy to pay any more than perfunctory attention to her; Goku simply ignored her, his attention fixated on the surroundings—it was only after he threatened to really shoot her that she finally shut up and concentrated on the task at hand.

Literally.

But now it seemed like Gojyo and Goku were about to start yet another inane quarrel.

"It's just a meatbun, you stupid cockroach! Why are you so stingy?" Goku whined, having already finished his own considerable amount of meatbuns. He was still hungry, though, and it was not like Gojyo was _that_ big an eater.

"Because I'm hungry too, dammit!" The kappa snapped. "You just ate _two _of mine! Stupid, greedy monkey!"

"I am not a monkey, you greedy cockroach!" Goku shoved at Gojyo, who was the one now sitting in the middle.

"Who's greedy now?" the other man demanded hotly, shoving back. "Just because I don't give you my meatbun doesn't mean I'm greedy! It just means I'm _hungry_, you stupid monkey!"

"I'm NOT stupid!"

"So you admit you're a monkey, huh?"

"GRRRRR—" Goku moved to try to bite the obnoxious kappa, but the harisen came out from nowhere and smacked them both upside the head.

"Hey!"

"Ow! That HURT, dammit!"

"Shut up, you nincompoops!" The blonde monk bellowed furiously, brandishing his gun at the two of them, who immediately cowered at his death glare. This time, Qing tossed her paper bag of meatbuns to Goku.

"Here. It's not like I'm eating it, anyway. The calories in there can kill a whale."

The heretic grabbed at it eagerly, looking at Qing as if she was his goddess or something. He would've reached over and glomped her, but Gojyo was in the way, and he really didn't suppose she would appreciate the gesture, so an enthusiastic show of gratitude would have to do. "Thank you so much!"

"Whatever. Now kindly stop quarreling before you two push me over the jeep. I really don't want to wreck this outfit."

Frowning, she leaned forward and checked herself in the rearview mirror. Satisfied with what she saw, she smiled happily and leaned back, preening like a little peacock. "Boy, you guys are lucky."

"Huh?" Goku asked quizzically through a mouthful of meatbun. "Why?"

"Because I still look perfect, of course." She said brightly. "Which means I don't have to kill you."

"Huh?" The monkey was confused.

Really. Just when Sanzo had thought that the deeply narcissistic little wench had just a little bit of depth, she had to go and prove him wrong. "Do you ever think of anything but yourself?"

"Why should I?" She scoffed. "I've got enough on my plate just worrying about myself, thank you very much."

"Good point. While you're at it, you should also try thinking up of ways to defend yourself without ruining our reputation."

"_Don't_ start with me, Monk Boy." Qing narrowed her eyes. She had had just about enough of his insults for one day, thank you very much, although inwardly she found it oddly refreshing. Sanzo was the only one so far who had spoken his mind about her to her face without any tact whatsoever, and there was just something about that that made her almost…respect him. Although she would rather suffer a chronic case of acne than admit it outright.

"Don't call me that, wench." he growled at the hated nickname. What was it about her that got under his skin so much? He decided that it was because he had no choice in the matter of taking her in, and the way the old hag had put it grated on his nerves very much. Yes, that was it.

"You started it." She snapped. "And I am not a harlot or a loose woman, so don't call me a wench."

"You deserved it." he said coldly.

She was not impressed; conveniently forgetting the fact that she was the one who had started off on the whole immature argument 'you-started-it' thing. "That is _such_ a Twinkie defense. Think up of a better comeback, please."

__

What the hell is a twinkie? Sanzo thought fiercely. She talked in a very strange manner; half the things she said were just plain incomprehensible, and the other half was just so annoyingly self-absorbed. Instead, he refrained from snapping at her, settling for a calmly cold, "I would, if I thought you were worth it."

She narrowed her eyes. Worth it? Of course she was worth it! It was other people who were not worthy of _her_. Like him, for example. "Impaired judgement much?"

"No, just a lot of common sense. Which you seem to be sorely lacking in."

"Oh, we all have our delusions. Yours might border on extreme hallucination."

"Doesn't say much for you."

"Why, you…" Qing glared at him, resisting the urge to reach out and throttle that infuriatingly calm expression off his face.

Gojyo surveyed the both of them curiously, then decided to finally say it. There was definitely something weird between the two of them, some kind of strange animosity that really wasn't what it seemed, although it didn't seem very much like anything in the Like department, either. "What is up with the two of you? You're both bickering like little old couples!"

Qing was disgusted. "Ewww much?"

Sanzo simply glared at him, in one of his patented mess-with-me-and-die molten glares of doom. "Unless you want to die young, kappa, I suggest you shut your trap." And of course, nothing reinforced that threat more than a Smith and Wesson to the face.

"Okay, okay!" Gojyo replied hurriedly, backing away. "Jeez, it was just a remark."

"Well, remark about something else!" Qing replied crabbily_. Sanzo_ and her? It was the stuff of nightmares. They were so different, and then there was that fact that he hated her on sight, and she happily returned the pleasure. To think of anything else was just plain unnatural. Sure, he was hot and all, but he seemed to have a perpetual stick up his butt about something. So not what she was looking for in a potential boyfriend.

Gojyo grinned, leaning towards her suggestively. "How about proving me wrong by spending the night with me?"

She sneered at him. "How about _not_? I like a Casanova as much as the next girl, but you're just not my type."

"What is your type, then? Air-headed and annoying?" Sanzo muttered unpleasantly.

She bared a poisonous smile. "If that was the case, you'll be the first on my list."

"Touché," Hakkai chortled from the front, very much amused with the verbal jousting. Normally it just consisted of very creative death threats, and a man could definitely get used to this spectator sport. After all, it was rare to see someone other than Goku or Gojyo rile him up like that.

Sanzo shot him a murderous look. "Don't make me shoot you, too."

…

"We're going to sleep out _here_? Without a bathroom? Or a bed?" Qing asked incredulously as she stared at the expanse of grassland all around her. There was a river nearby, but she would be damned if she was going to bathe in _there_, especially when there were four guys not too far away. Shopping in a dump was one thing, but this…this was a total nightmare.

__

I swear, when I get back home, I'm going to be atheist. She thought angrily.

"It's only for a few days, I assure you." Hakkai said, his tone placating. Goku and Gojyo had gone off to find wood for the fire, and Sanzo was nowhere in sight—probably not wanting to hang around for another one of the girl's temper tantrums. "And there's a river over there for you to bathe in, if you like."

"If you think I'm going to bathe in _that,_ you've got another thing coming." She snapped acrimoniously as she launched into a furious tirade. "This place majorly stinks, there's no roof, and what if it rains? I really, really don't want to be sleeping _here! _I mean, things were bad enough at that crap quality-deficient inn, and now _this_? Hello? Cruelty to people much? I don't know about you bums, but I refuse to sleep here! The grass stinks! I mean, if I wanted to rough it out, I'd go to summer camp or something equally pathetic!"

Hakkai, to his credit, was still smiling, though it looked a little strained. "Well, nothing can be done about it now, can it? Just put up with it for a little while, Miss Qing. It really isn't as bad as it looks." He looked up at the sky happily. "And it looks like we would be having fine weather tonight."

She glared at him accusingly, as if he was the one who was responsible for the mess somehow. _Which he is. _"Whatever." Qing was not stupid; what was the point of throwing a full-fledged temper tantrum in the middle of nowhere? All it would accomplish would be a death threat from Sanzo or something, which she currently was not up for. She was tired and cranky and in sore need of a nice, long soak. And heck, if she was going to sleep in such crappy conditions, she was so going to grab the other little pleasures whenever it came along, even if it meant taking a bath in a river.

__

I am never going to take my bed for granted again, she thought, thinking longingly of her satin sheets and soft, downy pillows. _And the Jacuzzi tub. When I get out of this hellhole, that will be the first place I'll hit._

But now she had to get back to reality. She was stuck here, and she would have to make the best of it. Nothing, not even _this_, was going to get the better of Rong Zi Qing. She was made of stronger stuff than that.

Stalking over to where her bag was, she pulled out a towel—one of the things she'd bought—and a bottle of shampoo. Then she paused and surveyed the clothes she'd bought. "Hey, Hakkai?"

He looked up from where he was preparing the food. "Yes?"

"Can I borrow your clothes or something? Mine are not exactly suited for sleeping in."

"Of course."

She regarded the clothes critically as she took them out. "Are they clean?"

"Yes. They've never been used."

"Thanks." She turned to head off, then she paused and turned back to him. "And I'm not going to the river to bathe because I want to, okay? If any of you guys as much as even _glance _in the general direction of the river, I'll hurt you all in ways that would make even the most hardy masochist say 'ouch', got it?"

Hakkai suppressed a chuckle. "Don't worry, Miss Qing. We're not _that_ perverted."

"Oh, I wouldn't know."

…

Thunk.

Thunk.

The sound was annoying the hell out of him.

Being a light sleeper, Sanzo had awoken the minute he heard it. It sounded a good distance away from their campsite, but in the silence of dawn, every sound seemed to be amplified tenfold. It was irritating.

Sitting up, he glanced around the site. The fire had long since died, a mess of charred wood in the centre of the rough circle they'd formed, and everyone was still fast asleep.

Everyone except Qing, who was currently missing.

Which meant that the one making that noise was…

__

Stupid wench. She has to irritate me when I'm sleeping, too!

Growling under his breath, he got to his feet and moved towards the direction of the sound. It was not hard, since there was a faint glow of light pinpointing the wench's exact location. He was a little surprised, though. She didn't look like she was an early riser, much less someone who would wake up early to practice archery.

__

Maybe she just sucks at it, he thought idly. _And she's trying to make last minute improvements before we see her in action. _The conclusion wasn't that much of a stretch, considering the kind of person she was. She probably didn't know the bow from the arrow. Barely able to hide a smirk, he moved quickly. If she really didn't know jack shit about archery, well, it was going to be amusing.

He was wrong, though. He knew it from the way she stood. There was a small fire a little way away from her, illuminating the clearing and the target.

The poor tree was already home to seven arrows.

She pulled the string taut and released it, and the arrow whispered through the air, hitting the bark of the tree with a solid _thunk_. She never even heard him even as she reached down to the quiver that lay on the ground beside her for another arrow. Muttering darkly to herself about stupid, offensive and totally EQ-deficient monks, she positioned the arrow and pulled the string of the bow back, ready for the next shot.

By now Sanzo was already right behind her, but she was too absorbed in what she was doing—and muttering—to notice.

"Wench." He said in her ear, not above giving her a good scare. It was payback for the sleep she caused him to lose.

With a startled scream, Qing almost dropped her bow. Spinning around, he suddenly saw the tip of a very sharp arrow in his immediate vision, followed by the ugliest thing he'd ever seen. _What the hell?_

Honestly.

It's face was full of a kind of substance that seemed to be from some kind of swamp, and it was disgusting. His S&W was already in his hand, and leveled point-blank at the…thing, ready to blow it's brains out. It was dressed in what Qing had been wearing earlier, though it looked nothing like her. In the dim light, there was only one thing to describe it.

Hideous.

"What the hell are you?" He demanded the same time as the thing screamed at him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

It was Qing's enraged voice. And it didn't look like it was going to lower the bow anytime soon. It was a stalemate.

"Excuse me, Monk Boy?" she asked after a few seconds of glaring at him. "Are you going to put the gun down anytime soon? My arms are tired. The bow isn't exactly _light, _you know. I might develop a cramp or something."

It was her.

"Damn, you are one ugly wench." He remarked, lowering his gun as she lowered her own weapon. Maybe she was a demon who only showed her true form when the sun went down or something, which would explain her narcissism.

"Excuse me?"

"Your face. No wonder you're so obsessed with your looks. Are you some kind of swamp demon?"

He could almost see her bristle, though he couldn't tell much by way of expression. "Excuse me, Mr. Ignoramus, this is a facial mask. I am currently exfoliating. You know, deep-cleansing pores, sloughing off dead skin cells, and starting the new day with my skin all hydrated and glistening, because moisturizing is simply not enough." She threw her hands in the air, deeply offended. "God, how weird can you get?"

"I should be asking you that question," he snapped. Which person does all that she just yapped about while practicing archery? He decided that he really didn't want to know. "And another thing. Why are you practicing archery at this ungodly hour? There are people who need sleep!" It was unnerving looking at a face that was covered with muck, but he endeavored.

"What do you mean weird?" Her voice rose, conveniently forgetting that she'd just used that question on him. "A face mask is NOT weird! And if you have a problem with me practicing, live with it." She hated that she was actually up at this hour doing it, but if she didn't, she would never get to sleep. That little nagging voice in the back of her brain would ensure that. It was simply too irksome. Besides, she had to find _some_ way to protect herself.

The sarcasm in her voice was dripping. "Also, I'm trying not to ruin your precious demon fighting reputation. It's already pretty darned generous, considering the damage you people are doing to _my_ rep. Thank God there's no one I know here, or else I am seriously going to die of shame."

"Do it somewhere else, then. You're damned noisy here."

"I'll practice wherever I want to. So bite me."

"I'd rather just shoot you," he said darkly. She was being such a nuisance; that would be a welcome relief.

She shot him a withering look. "Can you get over yourself? God, is everything kill, kill, kill with you?"

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"I really wouldn't." she snapped, turning back to where she had been practicing, totally dismissing him. She adjusted her arrow and fired with an aggression that had not been present earlier. Obviously he had majorly pissed her off, which was good, since she always seemed to be able to provoke him without much effort, which was very annoying.

"Your aiming stinks." He glanced critically at the tree, which was currently resembling a pincushion, what with all the arrows haphazardly being stuck onto it.

"I'm pretending it's you. Getting a bullseye so soon wouldn't be fun." She smiled with cruel charm and gestured to the 'X' that had been carved into the wood. None of the arrows were even remotely near it.

He smirked. "If that's that was really me, I don't think I'll have anything to worry about."

She made no response. Instead, she simply reached for another arrow. With surprising swiftness, she loaded the bow and released it.

The arrow hit the 'X' with a loud _thunk._

She smiled smugly at the monk. She was good at this, and she knew it. It was time the jerk knew it, too. "Daddy thought that archery was the new golf, and so he made me learn it for years. Maybe it's time you started worrying, hmm?"

"Tch," he dismissed, looking unimpressed. "Let's see how well you do against a moving target first."

"I can shoot you, for one." She sounded entirely too happy at the prospect. His completely repugnant remarks was the chief reason that she was sacrificing her beauty sleep for this, and plus the fact that he just had his gun pointed in her face yet _again _made for good incentives to stick an arrow or two in him.

"Save the trouble," he shot back lazily as he left. "You'll never hit me in a million years."

She scowled, then realized she still had her facial mask on and resisted the urge to scream. _There_ was another thing the jerk had ruined.

…

It was a very peaceful day, one of those days where the demons who were hot after their trail seemed to take a day off, and everything was right with the universe and all. Namely because Qing was currently fast asleep on Gojyo's shoulder, and—much to the latter's disappointment—she wasn't interested in doing anything else. Well, it was either this or get poked in the eye with Goku's really sharp shoulder pads. Besides, he was short, and she would get an unpleasant crick in her neck if she slept on him.

Of course, it hadn't been peaceful in the morning. Sanzo and Qing had been at each other's throats during breakfast, and Hakkai had to placate the seething young woman, who was saying something about the blonde priest ruining her sleep and her exfoliating session—generally something he wasn't sure he wanted to know about.

Sanzo, for one, was irritable—from having his sleep disrupted, possibly. Hakkai had woken up to see both Qing's and Sanzo's places empty. He had been worried for awhile and wondered what the pair were possibly doing, then decided he really, REALLY didn't want to know and had gone back to sleep.

There were some things that were better left alone.

And speaking of things that were better left alone, the blonde monk beside him was currently dozing. Gojyo was being quiet—possibly not wanting to wake the sleeping woman at his side, and Goku seemed to have no interest in engaging the half-breed in yet another round of asinine quarrels, entertaining himself by admiring the landscape.

It was, generally, a lazy, boring day.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Jeep." He said quietly, not wanting to break the tranquil spell that came upon them oh-so-rarely. The Jeep made a sound of approval, happy that none of the occupants were shooting and wrecking his paint job, and no damage was done to his seats for once.

This was not bad, not bad at all.

…

Five days later:

Qing was having a hell of a headache. She had not slept well, and to add to that, she was currently watching the guys putting the kibosh on the newest bunch of demons.

__

Three days in a row. You'd think that those demons would've developed some form of common sense and STOPPED coming, she thought sourly, rubbing her temple in order to ease the pain. She had earlier stated that under no circumstances was she joining the fight and dirtying her clothes. She was already filthy enough, on account of the days she had to spend bathing in a river. And what if she was killed or worse, horribly mutilated? No, thank you.

Also, she was very much afraid of those demons, although she would rather die than say it outright. A girl had her pride, you know.

So here she was, just a little way away from the fight with Jeep, the quiver of arrows at her feet and a bow in her hand. Of course, she was no freaking hero. It was more like self-protection, in case any demons decide to head in her general direction with her imminent demise in mind.

So far she had already shot down one. It had narrowly missed Gojyo, though, who yelped and jumped out of the way, then reminded her loudly to remember which side she was on. For all his macho-ness, he sure was wimpy around an arrow.

__

Nothing like a dose of abject terror to jolt the system, she thought even as she watched them. Her sleepiness was gone, but the migraine was still there, buzzing around in her head like a particularly irksome insect.

It was only when she saw none of the demons getting past the four of them that she started to relax, though she still kept an eye on the situation.

"When do you think I can get a decent bath and a good night's sleep, Jeep?" she asked unhappily, running a hand through her hair and wincing at the slightly roughened texture. Five days without a good conditioner and already her hair was going to pieces. This was horrible. "I'm going to look like a total bum if this keeps up, you know."

She leaned gingerly against the hood of the jeep, trying not to get her dress dirty. It was not an easy feat, considering the shortness of the dress and her pounding headache.

The menfolk looked like they were having the time of their lives, what with all the killing and the exploding demons and stuff, and she watched with a kind of sick fascination normally reserved for when one sees a cockroach crawling across the floor dragging it's entrails along. What was it with them and killing things? Okay, so Gojyo was right when he said that trouble always found them instead of the other way round, but did they have to be so _happy_ while they were killing things? What was wrong with them?

Honestly speaking, she hated that she could feel so much fear while they seemed to be entirely relaxed with the entire thing. How did one get used to demons?

"I am _never_ going to recover from this trauma," she told the Jeep petulantly, shaking her head. "If I become a psycho and go all Goth, I'm _definitely _sending you guys the psychiatrist's bill. You know how much—" she stopped, catching sight of a stray demon leaping her way. Abandoning her thought for the moment, she hurriedly scrambled for an arrow. Pulling it back, she aimed and fired—

—and missed.

This time, the demon was very much closer very much faster, and she beat down a wave of panic as she reached for another arrow. God, she should've paid more attention! She could see it's hideous face now, and those sharp, sharp teeth as it leered at her in anticipation of an easy kill. It looked strangely like a cross between an iguana and a fish that had been affected with jaundice or something. And God it stank, especially when it snarled. Why did all the fish-type ones just HAVE to come for her?

"No, no…" she muttered, almost panicking as her fingers shook and she almost dropped the arrow. She didn't want to die here, not like this!

__

Ohmygod, ohmygod, it's coming closer…come on, come on!

Finally, she managed to load the bow, but even before she took aim, the demon's head exploded like a ripe watermelon.

She stared, stunned, and Sanzo scowled at her before turning away to put another few bullets into the next dozen demons.

Qing sighed, sagging. That was a close one. The thing almost ate her! Her heart was still pounding in her ribs like a jackhammer, and she fought to calm it down, suddenly annoyed that the crazy monk had caught her at a very bad time and had even saved her bacon. Oh, she was _never_ going to hear the end of it from him.

"I _hate_ demons. Can't they just go hit on some other group? And talk about the embarrassment. I know that crazy monk is so going to rub this in the first time he gets the chance to. I mean, what _is_ his problem? It's not like I want to be here, anyway!" She muttered angrily to the listening Jeep. "Why does my life have to suck so much suddenly? What did I do to deserve this?"

"Kyuu?" The Jeep chirped, way past being confused.

Qing sighed, and ran a hand through her hair again, frustrated. "And look at me! Definite sign of insanity: I'm currently talking to a _car_. Wait till the girls hear about this. If they _ever_ get past their hangups and pay attention to _me,_ for one. Heather is so totally obsessed over her new boyfriend, you know, the one with the multiple piercings? But he is such a dud; I mean, the guy was so totally checking me out that time at Nightshade. And Adrienne, when will she get it into her head that bulimia is so _not_?" She paused. "I wonder what she's going to wear for the graduation party." Then she scowled. "It better not be anything from Versace; I hate people who wear the same things I am. She's _such_ a wannabe. That time at the Winter Dance, she copied my—"

But then something in the 'battlefield' caught her attention, cutting off her rant. There was a bright light, and suddenly there was something resembling toilet paper—only larger and with some kind of wording—flooding the entire place. Sanzo was chanting _something,_ and she realized that the toilet paper thingy had been on his shoulders, albeit much shorter when she had noticed it. And now by some strange reason it was strangely long, and enveloping all the demons with it.

The power. There was so much power…She felt it as keenly as if it had been pressed against her skin.

And then all the demons exploded.

Qing stared, impressed. "Well, that was pretty much a climax."

Upon seeing that those demons were gone, she tossed her bow and quiver of arrows into the Jeep, climbing into the driver's seat. "Come on, let's go get them."

…

What do you think? I made a lot of changes to this chapter…Hope you guys like it!


	3. Next Time We Stick to Fortune Cookies!

Hello, all! In case none of you guys noticed, the last part of the previous chapter touched on the beginning of the 8th episode of the Saiyuki series, the one where Chin Iisou first comes in.

Once again, thanks to all of my reviewers who kindly took the time to review my stories, and also to the ones who didn't. Cheers and enjoy this one!

…

"I need that sutra. My circumstances have changed, too." the Empress Gyokumen drawled from her throne, fixing her stepson with a barely concealed contemptuous glare, one which he readily returned. They were forced into an uneasy alliance; Gyokumen wanted to resurrect Gyuumaou, and Kougaiji simply wanted his mother back, although whether the Empress would resurrect her was an entirely different thing. For now, he would just have to trust her.

What other choice did he have?

"Circumstances?"

"I haven't told you that, have I?" She unfurled a roll of paper, the end of which barely touched his feet. "The Seiten Sutra. One of the Firmament Foundation Sutras, said to have been possessed by the Gods when they created the world. The thing which controls hallowed evolution is the—"

Kougaiji had no time for any of her crap. The old hag could go on and on about her accomplishments somewhere else, because aside from setting his mother free, he didn't care what really happened to her. Besides, he knew this, anyway. He was not all that ignorant, something his stepmother seemed to firmly believe in. "The Seiten Sutra."

"You're every inch of Gyuumaou's son. Now I see the resemblance." The sugary tone in her voice sickened him. "You're so quick on the uptake."

"Let's cut the chit-chat." The prince said abruptly, seriously not wanting to know about her and the demon king. "Continue."

"Listen, the protectors of the five sutras bear the title of the 'High Priest Sanzo'."

Kougaiji's eyes widened in shock as he remembered the fight a month back, where he had to save Yaone. _Sanzo? He really is a monk?_

Gyokumen continued, her tone eager. "And my oh-so-skilled researcher Professor Nii made a very important discovery."

Kougaiji scowled, even as he heard footsteps coming up from behind him.

"My name is Nii Jienyi," A smooth, almost oily voice sounded. He didn't bother to turn back to see who addressed him. Any friend of Gyokumen's was not worth the effort to get to know. "Lord Kougaiji, I've heard many good things about you."

__

Good things? Why do I find that almost impossible to believe? The animosity between him and the Empress was apparent. _This guy is one hell of a bullshitter. _His dislike for the man went up a lot more. If there was one thing he hated, it was bootlickers. Spineless morons, the lot of them.

The slick voice continued. "With your permission, I'll explain this new discovery, Your Highness Empress Gyokumen." Urgh. Just when he thought there was no one more disgusting than the Empress.

Gyokumen simply smirked.

"It's quite simple, actually." Nii continued. "Regarding Empress Gyokumen's beloved—" He chuckled, realizing his slip. "Oh, also your father, I believe." He sounded entirely too entertained by this fact, and Kougaiji had to resist the urge to just sock the moron in the jaw. "In any case, for the resurrection of Gyuumaou, we need both the Seiten Sutra you see here and the Maten Sutra that Genjo Sanzo possesses."

"So you're saying, if both sutras are joined, this experiment, the revival of Gyuumaou will succeed, right?" He glared at the Empress, who was taking entirely too much amusement in this.

"What you really want to know is if the seal on that rasetsu woman will be broken, am I correct?" The condescension in her voice was evident, and Kougaiji tamped down a flash of anger. No use showing any of his emotions in front of this bitch.

"That's right."

"Why don't you hold your tongue about that until after you get the sutra?"

Kougaiji simply glared.

…

A ways away, hidden safely behind a wall, Lirin seethed in anger. "Man, she pisses me off! I don't care if she's my mom. She's one greedy old bitch!" She paused and thought for a moment, her irritation vanishing. It wasn't a surprise, considering she was still a child, and kids in general had attention spans of fruit flies. "Well, I don't know what this sutra or scroll thing is, but getting it oughta be so easy for me!" Yep, she was gonna get it, and besides, she was dying of boredom staying in this dump of a place, anyway.

Giggling to herself, she scampered away. _Watch out, Sanzo-ikkou!_

…

"Miss Qing? Are you all right?" Hakkai said as he took over the wheel, brilliant green eyes shining with concern. "You look a little sick."

She waved him off, shaking away the strange tingling feeling she felt. "I'm fine."

"Don't tell me you're still stunned over that demon thing. I never knew you were _that_ pathetic, wench." Sanzo remarked offhandedly, puffing on a cigarette.

She rolled her eyes. "I never knew you were _that_ lame, Monk Boy. I could've handled that fish guy just fine before you decided to put a bullet hole through his brain."

"You looked more like you were about to wet your pants."

"I'm wearing a _dress_, Helen Keller."

"What's a Helen Keller?" Goku asked, frowning. "Is it edible?"

"Helen Keller's a very blind person back in my world. She invented something that helped blind people to read." Qing explained, taking great joy in emphasizing every word. Then she gave the blonde a viperous smile. "I'm sorry for calling you that, Monk Boy. I overestimated your capabilities. Helen was actually _smart._"

The gauntlet had been thrown.

And once again, the blonde priest rose to the challenge. "_Someone_ has to be smart, especially if your world was filled with idiots like you. It's the universal law of balance."

The Games began.

…

Sanzo had lost this time, much to Goku's dismay. It meant that the latter was a lot less richer, and he had to forfeit all privileges of a bed for the next two nights. Hakkai had commented that every fight was better than the last, and it was infinitely more entertaining watching the two of them go at it than listening to Goku and Gojyo's arguments.

"Hey Sanzo," Goku said suddenly, leaning forward, remembering the question he wanted to ask before the whole snipefest started. "About that vest of yours…"

He frowned. "Vest?"

"The Maten Sutra, you mean?" Hakkai asked pleasantly.

"Yeah!" He turned to Sanzo admiringly. "Man, that thing is strong. It took out all those demon zombies in a single shot!"

He glanced down at the sutra adorning his shoulders thoughtfully. _The Maten Sutra. _He had to admit, the sheer power of it surprised him sometimes. How could a harmless piece of paper be so deadly? He stared at it for a long moment, and remembered what the Three Aspects had said to him when he was charged to take this particular mission.

"The calamities now eroding our world, the sudden berserk transformation of the demons, and the resurrection of Gyuumaou…someone is behind them. Through the combination of science and demon magic, an enormous Minus Wave has washed over all of Tougenkyo. You are hereby to discover who is behind the resurrection of Gyuumaou, their purpose, and to stop them at all costs."

Gyuumaou, Sanzo thought with a start. He remembered him through the countless of tales that had been passed down from generation to generation. The great youkai was sealed away five hundred years ago by the God of War, Prince Nataku, in Hontou Castle in Tenjiku. The demon who refused to coexist with humans and is said to have devoured a multitude of them in his lust…

"Everything is in Tenjiku," An Aspect insisted, his eyes blazing with purpose. "You have to head to the West immediately, there is no time to lose."

He bowed. "As you command."

"And one other thing."

He looked up in surprise. "There is reason to fear that the person behind the resurrection of Gyuumaou is using the momento of your deceased master that you seek, the Seiten Sutra."

What? Sanzo thought in surprise. The Maten Sutra I have, with the hidden power to sunder the darkness, and my master, Koumyo Sanzo had the Seiten Sutra, which gives birth to light…and which was stolen by somebody that fateful night when I left the mountain…it's a momento of the dead. Sanzo closed his eyes, the image of his master shielding him resurfacing once more in his mind's eye, burning into his memories.

Master…

"—Sanzo! Sanzo!" Goku's eager voice cut into his thoughts, jolting him back to reality. "Sanzo, look! Check that out!" And true to his word, a large town loomed cordially in the distance. The monkey, for one, was simply ecstatic. Hell, he could almost smell the food! "Full course and all-you-can-eat meals for me!" He crowed, mouth watering at the thought of countless dishes filled to the brim with the most delicious delicacies. There were meatbuns, dumplings, ramen…ah, the wonder!

"You wanna fight more zombies or something?" Gojyo deadpanned, rolling his eyes.

"Not even that!" Goku snapped. Eating was a sacred ritual he would gladly adhere to, which meant that fighting was strictly off limits! Fighting with that kappa for the last piece of meat however, was a different story entirely…

"Stupid monkey."

Goku almost jumped on him, growling. "Look, I'm so hungry I'm about to die! Maybe I should eat you, you perverted kappa!"

An incensed Gojyo leapt back up, nearly dislodging Qing in the process. "Fine by me! Just do it, if you can!" 

And yet another inane fight began between the two of them. An irate Qing had joined the fight, albeit verbally, and so it was a very merry affair at the back of the Jeep.

Sanzo scowled, wishing a painful death on all three of them. Why couldn't they just SHUT UP for a blessed three minutes?

Hakkai was grinning. "There are some things that can't be accomplished just by thinking about them."

The tone of his voice indicated that he wasn't talking about the din at the back. Honestly, Sanzo swore that the man could read minds or something. How else would he know what to say? "What would you do if it was you?"

"Hmmm…" the cheerful young man thought about it for a moment. "Good question."

The noise was beginning to really, REALLY get to him. Especially since Qing was now yelling at them. Snarling, he turned back and brandished his gun at them.

"Shut the fucking hell up!" He roared, his handsome face turning purple with rage. And for good measure, he fired off a shot, which scared the living daylights out of the trio at the back.

"Yaaaaahhhhh!"

"Argh!"

"What is your DAMAGE, Monk Boy?"

"Don't call me Monk Boy!"

…

"Seeing those with no perception of their powerlessness enslaved to their needs is more annoying than amusing, wouldn't you say?" Gyokumen said poisonously even as Kougaiji walked away, desperately trying to rein in his anger. She knew he was listening, oh she knew. He clenched his fists. If he hadn't needed her to unseal his mother…

Nii watched the prince leave, his expression revealing what he really thought about the prince. "If I may be permitted to say so, Empress Gyokumen, there aren't many people like you who would ravage even the world itself for their own ends."

Gyokumen regarded him with mild amusement. He was a fascinating man, this one. "My, is that meant as a compliment?"

"Of course it is," Nii grinned rakishly, still holding his toy rabbit.

__

Hmm. "Kougaiji!" she called.

He stopped just outside the doorway, but did not bother to turn back. She was not worth the effort. "I'll give you back your real mother, that rasetsu."

__

What? That was unexpected. He half-turned, showing that he was indeed listening to her. "I promise you that. But there is one thing you may not have," her tone hardened. "Gyuumaou is mine, and mine alone! I'll become his rightful wife. Do you understand me?"

He didn't bother to respond.

…

Kougaiji stared up at his mother, encased in stone. The waves of helplessness he had often tried to fight back were much stronger now, and just seeing his mother like this, so close and yet so far…it hurt beyond belief.

__

If I get serious about this, defeating Sanzo and the others shouldn't be impossible…however, when I confronted them, I became aware for the first time of something obviously different within me. He looked down at his clawed hands, remembering the beating he'd endured at Goku's hands. _Am I uncertain? But that's right…I know how futile this fight is, that even if I defeat them, nothing would change. But Mother, I will save you. Even though I know that the Empress Gyokumen's ambitions will plunge this world into chaos. I promise you, I will save you!_

He blinked, sensing a presence. The sound of running footsteps were louder now. It couldn't be that empress cow, because the steps were significantly lighter, and he never saw her run before, so it would only be—

"Lord Kougaiji!" A distressed Yaone appeared in the doorway, almost out of breath. "I looked all over the castle for Lady Lirin, but I can't find her!"

He frowned. "What?"

Dokugakuji stepped in with a grin. "One of the long-distance dragons are missing."

"The flying dragons? Where did it go?"

Dokugakuji simply smirked, waiting for him to get it.

Kougaiji made the connection immediately and was pained. _Oh no, not this again. _"Could it be…?" Of course it could be! "That idiot!"

And so he was off to the rescue once again. If only he could find that pesky sister of his.

…

The streets were more crowded here than in the previous town. Countless stores lined the wide, clean streets, and everyone was going about their daily business, paying the new arrivals no mind. Goku, for one, looked as excited as a kid in a candy shop. "Man, I haven't seen this many shops in ages!"

"Looks pretty peaceful." Gojyo muttered, looking bored. There wasn't so much as a hot babe in sight, and it was disappointing.

"Yeah." Sanzo muttered.

"I guess this town hasn't been influenced too much by the youkai." Hakkai remarked.

Goku stopped abruptly at a stall that had meatbuns on display, his eyes shining. "Wow! That looks SO good!" He turned to the group and yelled. "Sanzo, I wanna eat one!"

"No."

And the monkey lost it then and there. "Why not, you stingy old monk?" Hell hath no fury like an animal denied its treat, and so Goku went on a name-calling rampage, most of which involved him being bald and old.

"I'm not listening," Sanzo bit out. He was still sore that he'd lost the latest round of verbal judo to the wench, and was not about to be generous.

"Why not?" Hakkai, the ever-soft one asked pleasantly as Goku was still ranting. "It's just a meatbun."

"Kids these days get cocky if you pamper them."

"Wow, Your Royal Monkness," Gojyo said in amusement, putting an arm on his shoulder. "You make one heck of a parent, you know?"

His trusty Smith and Wesson was in the kappa's face the next instant. "You wanna die?"

"I need new clothes." Qing announced.

"You just bought clothes a week ago." Sanzo shot back. "That should last you for a couple of months."

"No, they won't. I threw most of them out already."

"What the hell did you do that for?" Was she even sane? What kind of person threw new clothes out?

"If you think I'm going to wear the same outfit twice, you are sadly mistaken," she snapped. "Hygienic much?"

"This is not a tour, you know!" Sanzo snapped back at her, feeling a vein throb on his forehead. The wench seriously tested his patience sometimes. _Hell, make that all the time._

"I know this is not a tour! Do you think I'll be travelling with YOU if it was!"

"You—"

"Pardon me, young men, young lady." A slightly nasal voice interrupted the two of them before they could really get going. All of them turned to see a strange looking man with blue hair in the corner, sitting in a fortune-teller's booth. He was smiling, but there was something about him that was…odd. "Travelers, aren't you?"

They just stared at him.

"Let me, Chin Iisou, forecast what lies ahead on your journey."

"What kind of a name is that?" Qing muttered to herself, frowning at him suspiciously. What was with the blue hair? Hell, didn't he know that blue would _never_ be the new black, no matter what Vogue said? It just made him look like an alien. Or maybe he really _was_ an alien. Hmm.

"What kind of a name is Qing?" Sanzo shot back, it was not to defend the eerie guy, but more to shut her up, since flat-out telling her to do so would definitely not work.

She glared at him. And he, of course, ignored her.

Gojyo snorted derisively. This guy was definitely some kind of quack out to scam a few bucks from suckers; just look at the lack of business he was having. "We ain't interested in that."

Goku's mind was still on one thing even as he tugged on Sanzo's sleeve, mournfully eyeing the food stall. He could eat the whole damn stall, including the owner, the way he was feeling right now. "Hey Sanzo," he whined petulantly. "Just one, okay? One! I'm really, _REALLY_ hungry!"

This was getting to be too much. Why, WHY did he have two irritants constantly wearing on his nerves all the time? "Shut up!"

Bored, Qing moved away to look for a tailor shop, and gestured for Gojyo to come along, which he complied, clearly forgetting what had happened the last time he went shopping with her. Hey, anything for a babe, especially since they seemed to be in very, very short supply here.

The fortune-teller guy was giggling. "It seems that I see death in your future." The comment hit entirely too close to home, and even Qing stopped at that.

The look in the man's eyes became strangely unreadable. "It's a frightening prospect, you know." And he laughed, amused by this fact.

"Bastard." Sanzo drawled, his eyes stony. Was he some kind of twisted pervert or something? "Who the hell are you?"

Apparently Chin was not interested in answering his question and was more content with hearing himself talk. "You're living on the brink of death, aren't you? Yes, yes, I can tell."

"I asked you who you were." Sanzo's voice turned icy, holding the promise of imminent death if he did not comply.

And again, it seemed like Chin was more interested in something else. Someone else. "Especially…you!" His finger pointed to a surprised Hakkai, and the look in the fortune-teller's eyes darkened. "Yes, you may hide it with that hypocrite's face, but you have the eyes of a sinner, that you do. Sins too deep to atone for." He paused, eyes glinting maliciously. "Yes, and you bear the scars on your belly, do you not?"

Hakkai froze, his hand instinctively going to his stomach. The fortune teller's words had hit home. But…how? _How_ could the fortune teller possibly know what he'd done?

"Hey, you!" Goku snapped angrily, noticing the sickened look on his friend's face and jumping to his defence. Why did Hakkai look so strange all of a sudden? "You picking a fight with us or something?"

"I'm merely concerned with your well-being. Of course, I'm merely a fortune teller who's not right that often. Just look at these mahjong tiles."

"Mahjong tiles?" Goku asked quizzically. You could tell someone's fortune with mahjong tiles? It was pretty much unheard of.

"My tiles tell the future. Behold!" He held up a blank tile. "Calamity be with you all!"

Before their eyes, a single word swirled into being. C_alamity._

"What are you talking about?" Goku demanded. But before he could even finish the rest of his sentence with a death threat, a deafening sound shook the entire town. Literally.

Whirling, all of them turned to see black smoke and sand rising from the horizon, and people were screaming, fleeing in terror. It looked like a scene out of a Godzilla movie.

"What was that?" Hakkai stared, wide-eyed. Another thump, and the ground itself shook violently.

The black smog cleared to reveal a very huge, very, very ugly crab-like monster. The screaming intensified as people ran towards shelter. The thing's eyes glowed, and once again Qing was reminded of Godzilla. Even the teeth was similar.

Gojyo was unimpressed. "Well. Something big popped out again. Goku, dinner time."

He stared at the thing dubiously. It was a good thing that was a crab—he liked crabs—but… "That thing looks really hard." _How am I supposed to eat THAT?_

"Look at it's chest." Sanzo pointed, ever the one with the keen eyes. True to form, there was a strange squiggly mark on it. "It's a Sanskrit glyph."

"A shikigami, isn't it?" Hakkai frowned.

"Who's gummy?" Qing asked, confused.

"_Shikigami, _wench." Sanzo responded, not bothering to aggravate her this time, though it was namely because he was still pretty much reeling at the size of the thing and wondering how the hell it could be defeated. "It's a type of magic where evil thoughts are put into an object, causing it to transform into a monster."

"How the hell can a monster be THAT big?" Gojyo asked incredulously, squinting up at it. "It ain't normal."

Hakkai turned to the fortune-teller, but the booth was empty. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. _That man…_

You have the eyes of a sinner…sins too deep to atone for…

Is that fortune teller the one who created that shikigami? He wondered, staring at the empty spot, as if waiting for him to appear any second.

Sanzo was gazing in the same direction as Hakkai, his gaze coldly speculating. _Is he another demon sent by Kougaiji? But something feels very different about this. _Unless the demon prince had decided to suddenly employ people who looked like they were better off in a loony bin, he had to say that the fortune teller was going solo.

He winced as the ground shook beneath them, much more violently than the previous time, and it was obvious that the thing was coming towards them.

"He's putting on quite a show, ain't he?" Gojyo remarked, watching the trail of destruction the monster was currently on.

"Next time, we just stick to fortune cookies!" Qing snapped, greatly distressed and not sharing in the enthusiasm of a good monster whomping. As if attacks by mutant sharks with feet weren't enough, she had to deal with a giant mutant crab? Emphasis on _giant_.

"Well, what now?" Sanzo asked calmly, crossing his arms.

"It's obvious, isn't it? We trash him!" Goku grinned in anticipation of a good fight.

The kappa's eyes glinted dangerously. "I don't know who it's working for, but it better not get cocky!" His shakujou was already in hand.

Goku, for one, had his Nyoyi staff ready and was prepped for a good battle. It had been awhile since he was properly revved. Those demons a couple of days ago were just warm-ups. "Well, this looks like fun! Let's get it on, Crab Giant!"

The thing charged towards them, gaining speed every second.

Qing's bow and quiver of arrows had been strapped to her back, but now said bow was in her hand, and she was busy loading it, going into Combat Girl mode. Three days of seeing demons would do that to anyone, and then there was that pesky urge to show the damn monk that she was NOT pathetic. The fact that he'd shot the demon before it attacked her—effectively saving her skin, no matter how much she hated admitting it—stung her ego like hell.

She fired off her shot, and—

__

Hey.

"I don't think an arrow is going to penetrate that kind of shell, Miss Qing." Hakkai murmured.

"I know. I think I was there when my arrow bounced off like a rubber ball." Even in times like these, Hakkai noted that her sarcasm was still intact. He supposed she was finally adjusting to the fact that she was going to have to fight demons.

"Dumbass." Sanzo muttered.

"At least _I'm_ not just standing around doing nothing."

He ignored that. Goku and Gojyo were ready to pounce, but all of them froze when a strangely-garbed young girl stepped calmly into the path of the charging demon.

__

What the—

Before their astonished eyes, the girl leapt forward, and with a single punch sent the giant crab exploding.

…

And somewhere miles away, said girl's long-suffering half-brother knelt beside a currently exhausted flying dragon. "So this is where she left it."

Yaone, the ever-optimistic one, smiled hopefully. "Which means that Lady Lirin is somewhere nearby, right?"

"I swear," he growled, clenching his teeth. "All the trouble she's caused…"

Dokugakuji, who had been standing a little way away, walked towards them, an amused smirk on his face. He could see through Kougaiji's irritation all too clearly. "Say that if you want, but you're actually worried, right? Big brother?"

Caught, Kougaiji scowled. "Just shut up! Quit acting like my older brother, all right? What do you know?"

"I wouldn't say that. I like to think that I know a little." The other man strolled idly away, not looking at either of them. "My father had a lover, too. I even have a little brother from the other woman. One heck of an upstart little brat, but he was a cute little brother to me. Well, I couldn't even save my own suffering mother in the end…"

Kougaiji stood up slowly, realizing that his words must've hurt the other man. He was embarrassed about it, especially since it dredged up memories that seemed to be better left alone.

"Looking at you brings back memories," he continued, glancing back at his prince.

Kougaiji nodded, immediately feeling guilty. Gods when would he stop being such a jerk? "I'm sorry. I said too much."

"Hey, don't sweat it. Besides, this ain't a bid for sympathy or anything." There was a pause, and Kougaiji was silent. Dokugakuji smiled and turned back to him. "It's what I decided for myself."

"Decided?"

"Ever since I ended up at the castle, and you made me one of your retainers without asking a single question, I decided that I would put my life in your hands."

Kougaiji listened, moved by his unwavering loyalty. "Dokugakuji…"

"Listen, Kougaiji. You live the life you want to. No matter what path you travel, Yaone and I, we're with you. You're our one and only master."

With a faint smile, the prince nodded.

…

Any ideas on how I can improve? Leave me a message! Thanks so much!


	4. Shikigami

****

AN: It's very irritating how some assorted characters on just don't seem to understand the fact that just because they love a particular anime, it does not give them the right to diss other people who like that same anime—and who write Original Character fanfictions. Granted, some are slightly below average, but flaming people who actually write good stories just show a total lack of common sense.

And for those people who profess to hate OCs and Mary Sues; there is already a warning on the summary, so why bother reading it if you hate it? There ARE people out there who like OCs, and those people definitely don't go around and flame shounen-ai or yaoi stories. It just goes to show how infantile those flamers are.

So I write OC stories and I LIKE doing it, what's the problem with that? So maybe I like to read self-insert fics, so? Isn't that what is about?

"Unleash your imagination and free your soul". Obviously some people just don't get that. The anime does not belong to you, nor does it belong to me, I don't have the right to flame anyone, and neither do you. Constructive criticism I can take, but flamers just waste my time.

And flamers, here's a note. I'm not taking shit from anyone. If I am, rest assured that I will squeeze your head for it.

Cheers.

.Jess.

****

…

SetineHello again! I hope you liked the story!

****

Catarina-chanYes, it's good how it's just a story by a fan, huh? Amazing how some people don't even have the intelligence and/or the maturity level to understand that and just give decent fanfiction writers their due.

…

…

Meanwhile, Lirin was eagerly antagonizing the Sanzo-ikkou, who were still stunned that someone like her had taken that thing down in a single punch.

"Sanzo-ikkou! I found you!" The pint-sized child demon crowed happily. "I'm Lirin! I came to get rid of you guys!" she dropped into her defensive stance. "Come at me from wherever you want!"

They just stared blankly at her. It wasn't often that they saw a tiny, cute little girl person beating the daylights out of something that was easily a thousand times her size, then charging up to them with that megawatt smile and telling them that she was going to kill them.

"From wherever?" Gojyo finally spoke, for once not knowing what to say. He'd skipped on all the flirtatious lines. Sure, the girl was well-developed—_very_ well-developed—for her age, but she was definitely jailbait and he wasn't a pedophile, no matter what people said about him and his obsession for anything with breasts and a pair of gorgeous legs. "But uh…"

Hakkai seemed to be at a loss for words too. "Well…let's see now…"

Lirin scowled impatiently at them. "Hey, you guys can't be hesitating just because I'm small, are you?"

That had pretty much been the point.

"Uh…"

She leapt at Gojyo, whose lightning quick reflexes stopped him from being mincemeat. The spot where the kappa had been standing a second ago had a large, smoking hole.

"Whoa," Qing muttered, wide-eyed.

"Goku, go!" Gojyo pointed frantically. "You're the same size as she is!"

"Why me? I thought handling girls went to Hakkai!"

"No!" Hakkai protested, ever the gentleman. "It should go to Qing, shouldn't it? I mean, Qing's a girl…"

All eyes turned to said girl, who backed away immediately and glared at them. "Hey, no. _NO._ I am NOT going near her. Did you see how she pulverized that Godzilla-mutant-crab-demon thingy? I am not going to deal with a GMCD-thingy killer!" She paused for a moment and peered distractedly at the kid, who was listening to every word. "And besides, she's kind of cute in a monstery, weirdish way…"

That, apparently, was the wrong thing to say. Lirin exploded. "Shit, quit making fun of me like I'm a kid!" She pounced again, intent on doing some damage to the annoying bitch who just said she was _cute, _of all things. But before she could land, someone grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, stopping her onward trajectory.

It was Sanzo, who held her up high from the ground.

"Wha—?" She was momentarily stunned before she started to struggle to get out of his grip. "Damn it, PUT ME DOWN! Droopy-eyes! Baldy!"

A vein was throbbing dangerously on Sanzo's forehead, and he gritted his teeth at the insult. _BALDY! In what damn way am I bald!_ "Let me go!" she ranted, flailing around wildly. Sanzo had to duck a little to keep from getting a boot in the face. "I'm getting pissed! You won't get me so easil—"

"Do you want a meatbun?" He cut in, holding out a bun to her. The girl stared, wide-eyed for a moment before she grabbed it eagerly. "Gimmegimme!"

And to their shock, she stopped struggling and happily chomped on her bun.

Gojyo, Hakkai, and Qing just stared.

"I say, Sanzo," Hakkai began awkwardly, not knowing whether to laugh or be relieved. It was a comical sight, the monk was holding up a currently eating Lirin, and Goku was beside him, equally happy with his own meatbun. The look on Sanzo's face was priceless, and he suddenly wished that he had a camera with him. This was definitely one of those moments. "You sure are good with animals."

Before Sanzo could say anything, though, a loud voice cut through the air. "That is enough!"

The group turned, surprised. "What?"

And at the top of the rubble, they saw him. "We meet again." Kougaiji gritted, barely keeping in his extreme annoyance. What the hell were they doing with his sister!

"Again?" Qing asked, unable to take her eyes off him. She'd never seen him before, but he was cute. Very cute. Wait, scratch cute. The man was _gorgeous_. And those eyes… _Hello, exciting new taste sensation,_ she thought happily.

"Kougaiji." Sanzo said in recognition, ignoring her.

"I came to get my sister back!" the irate prince continued.

"Please, by all means, take her back!" Hakkai shouted, smiling. Sure, she was pretty entertaining and all, but they all had work to do.

Lirin waved, quite content to stay under Sanzo's arm. "Hello, Big Brother!"

Kougaiji smacked his forehead, very much beyond exasperation. What the hell was _she_ doing? He could feel the beginning of a big headache coming on. Gods, why him? _Why?_ "You IDIOT! Get back here AT ONCE!"

Qing, for one, was admiring him. Okay, so his dress sense was a little strange, but she could work around it, considering how hot he was.

"Hello there." Qing sashayed forward, fixing him with one of her most seductive looks. Inwardly, she was glad that she had worn a dress today. Nothing flaunted the goods more than a short dress would. She flicked back her hair casually. "It's not often I see guys caring so much for their little sisters, you must be a very good big brother."

He stared at her, momentarily derailed. "Who are you?"

A smile curved on her sensuous lips. "Hello, I'm Qing. What's your story?" Before the prince could respond, she added—almost as an afterthought, "Hey, how about we go somewhere and grab a coffee or something, then you can tell me all about yourself?" Her smile turned flirtatious. "I'll bet you are as intriguing as you look." _Any place would be better than this dumping ground._

What?

All the air was beaten out of his sails as Kougaiji stared at the young woman, wide-eyed. Having a beautiful—and very shapely, he had to add—young woman coming onto him like that in the midst of a battle was something he'd never encountered before. And obviously, none of the Sanzo group had, too, considering the bug-eyed way they were looking at her now.

He really didn't know what to say. And did she just ask him out on a _date_?

"I—" it was not often that one saw a bewildered Kougaiji, and even his henchmen stared at him in amazement.

Lirin rolled her eyes. This was pathetic. For all his tough talks and glares, her brother really didn't know how to resist females. Especially if they were exceedingly easy on the eyes. Just look at the number of times sister Yaone got what she asked for.

Clearing his throat, he tried again, getting his marbles back. Jeez, this was so unnerving. He decided, instead, to direct his next question to the group. Gruffly. "Is she in your group?"

"Yes," Hakkai said the same time Sanzo growled "no".

"So _that's_ what I have to do to get some action with her?" Gojyo muttered half-heartedly. "Be all evil and scowling?"

On the other hand, maybe it was better that the girl had her eye on the evil bugger. She was one seriously high-maintenance chick; and he wasn't sure if he could handle it, especially when she had a sharp tongue on top of everything. So not his type.

"In case you haven't noticed, miss. We're on different sides here." Kougaiji muttered.

Qing shrugged. "So? I'd leave you my cellphone number, but I don't think there are phones here, so nevermind."

They all stared at her, uncomprehending.

She sighed, a long-suffering sigh. "Forget it. Jeez, all you guys know how to do is fight." She shook her head and sniffed distastefully. "_Boys._"

Dismissing them, she went to sit down on an outcropping of rock.

Kougaiji didn't know _what_ to make of that.

"Don't worry, she's normally stranger than this." Sanzo shrugged.

"I heard that, Monk Boy."

"Shut up."

Apparently, Goku thought the conversation had gone on for long enough, and it was time for some fun. Grinning up at his nemesis, he hefted his staff. "Hey, you're not going to take your sister and run again, are you, Kougaiji?"

Okay, now THIS was more in his element. Besides, he had been waiting for this for a long time now. "Hmph, hardly!" He vanished from sight the same time as Goku did, and a second later, only two red and yellow blurs could be seen in the sky.

And below them, their own battles were beginning.

Shyly, Yaone approached Hakkai, getting his attention. "Um…excuse me?"

"Yes?" he asked politely. It was the girl from before!

"May I challenge you to a duel?" her tone was equally courteous and respectful. After all, one can never be too polite. "I'd like to live for Lord Kougaiji's sake from now on, and be of use to him."

Hakkai was genuinely pleased that she'd abandoned all thoughts of taking her life just because she failed. She was such a pleasant young woman, and it would be a big waste if she died. "Such wonderful resolve. I'm happy for you."

They both bowed, and their battle began.

Sanzo, for one, was stuck with a happily chewing Lirin and an annoyed Qing, and was currently playing babysitter to the former, who was treating him as if he was no more dangerous than a bowl of mashed potatoes. _I can't believe I've been reduced to this…_

The crescent blade of Gojyo's shakujou was stopped, and Gojyo scowled up at the man who was standing on the ledge above him. "So my opponent's you, Pops."

The man looked mildly surprised. "Sha Gojyo?"

"Huh?"

The guy smiled, looking pleased. "I thought so! I wasn't sure until I met you in person."

And suddenly, gazing at him, Gojyo _knew._ He recoiled in shock. "It can't be…!"

He grinned. "Yo!"

"Brother!"

And he was back in his memories once more, his mother towering over him, her clawed hands ready to strike, to inflict the killing blow…her tears…and suddenly he saw his brother's face, the tears running down from his eyes, his pained eyes…_Brother._

Gojyo laughed bitterly, unable to believe it. But it was him, the face…the resemblance was unmistakable. Fate sure had a way of screwing people around, all right. All this time he'd spent wondering where his brother was, if he was all right, if he was dead…and he had been under Kougaiji all this time… "Is this for real? What the…what the hell are you doing here!"

He regarded him for a moment, the look in his eyes unreadable. "I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I? I'm one of Kougaiji's direct subordinates. Name's Dokugakuji." A large blade materialized in his hand. "I can't hack at the lifestyle you chose. Sorry."

Gojyo narrowed his eyes, his resolve strengthening. He definitely wasn't going to sit around and mope that Fate was a bitch. He had more important things to do right now. And besides, he didn't want to show his brother how pathetic he was; there was plenty of time to think about it later. Hefting his shakujou, he grinned darkly. "I'm with it. And the same goes for me, too!" He leapt, and the fight was on.

…

Goku moved like quicksilver; a split second faster than Kougaiji was.

"Over here, Kougaiji!" he taunted merrily, already on the opposite side of the demon prince.

Cursing under his breath, he spun around and roared. "You impudent little brat, quit scurrying around!" The damn boy seemed to think that this was just a game, and it was beginning to really piss him off. A fireball formed in his hand, rapidly gaining power even as he slammed it down, blowing apart everything in it's wake.

__

That should show him, he thought angrily, watching from his airborne position. When the smoke cleared, he struggled to see. _Did I get him?_

The boy's voice rang out, strong as ever. "Let's do this for real, then!"

"What?" He stared up at the sky, but was too slow to move even as Goku slammed down onto him, knocking him onto his back.

__

For real? Kougaiji thought, surprised. _Has he been…toying with me all along? _This was simply too infuriating. But before he was able to get his bearings back, the punch came from out of nowhere. It took all he had to narrowly miss it, and in that instant, there was only one thought in his mind.

__

He's gotten stronger. But…He grinned. This was going to be a real challenge. "This is going to be fascinating."

"Isn't it, though?" Goku turned, a challenging gleam in his golden eyes.

"That was a very nice move," Kougaiji drawled, bending down to pick up the stone bracelet Goku had broken when he slammed down onto him earlier. "But I'm gonna give it back to you double." He straightened, ready for whatever came next. He had been itching for a good fight in a very long while, and finally, a worthy opponent. "Got it?"

"That's the spirit. Let's go!" Goku dropped into a battle position, unable to keep a pleased grin on his face. Finally!

"Bring it on!" Kougaiji did likewise, the smile on his handsome face identical to the one on Goku's.

And the battle raged on.

…

Unbeknownst to the combatants on the ground, Chin Iisou stared down at them, dark amusement in his eyes. His plan was going oh-so-well indeed. It would not be long before he launched into his final, master plan. Cho Gono was definitely going to pay for all his crimes.

…

This time, Kougaiji landed lightly on the ground, while Goku stared down at him, his Nyoyi staff at the ready. His smile had long been gone even as he scowled up at his opponent, struggling to regain his power. _That brat has definitely gotten stronger since the last time we met. _His jaw ached where the brat had punched him in the face earlier, and he thought he tasted a slight tang of blood.

"Hey!" An impatient Goku called, cutting rudely into his thoughts. "Didn't you say that you were going to give it back to me double?"

"Damn you!" Kougaiji snarled, leaping back up to where he was. Goku took a step back at the sheer speed of his attack, and vanished a mere moment before his punch landed. Appearing beside him, he raised his Nyoyi staff, spotting one weakness everyone would have when they were in the act of punching someone.

His back.

"It ain't fun if you don't get serious!"

The demon prince fell heavily to the floor, stunned by the force of the blow. As he struggled to get to his feet, Goku mercilessly advanced, knocking him to his back again and sending him flying several feet.

"What the hell are you doing?" Goku demanded, swinging another heavy blow into the stunned prince.

And another.

And another.

Dropping hard onto his back, a wild thought ran through his mind. _What am I doing? _Every bone in his body hurt, and his muscles were now warring with his brain, who was busy telling them to move, to get up and fight.

"Quit screwing around, all right?" Goku yelled. So far the fight had been pretty disappointing. Where was the confident, powerful Kougaiji he'd seen before? Did he get soft so fast?

'_Quit screwing around,' he says?_ Kougaiji thought as Goku charged, feeling his temper rise once more. But besides that temper, there was something else. There was curiosity…and the beginnings of a grudging respect. The Sanzo-ikkou had so far defeated all of the demons he'd sent without even breaking a sweat, and now Goku was wiping the floor with him without much effort at all. And he… _Just what is it that you all possess? You, who are all just traipsing along on a journey…_

In that instant, he remembered his mother, sealed in stone. He had vowed to fight to free her, no matter what happened. And even as he saw Goku prepare to pounce, he was filled with a fresh, deadly resolve. Leaping up to dodge the blow and to inflict a heavy one on Goku, he snarled. "No matter who my enemy is, I will not lose!"

This time, his punch landed square on Goku's face.

He felt it, the solid, meaty _thump_ of fist connecting with face. But the boy…

The boy was actually _grinning._

Kougaiji's eyes widened in shock at that realization even as Goku fell away from him.

The results were immediate.

"Goku!" Hakkai exclaimed, at the same time a pleased and vastly relieved Yaone said Kougaiji's name.

Even a stunned Gojyo stopped in the middle of his battle and stared. "Goku!"

Qing's eyes were wide, but she said nothing this time. She'd seen Goku fight demons, and he had never really sustained a real hit until now…was the battle over? She shot a quick glance at Sanzo, who was watching the scene impassively. He looked as calm and relaxed as usual, and for a second, she wondered what he was thinking about.

Kougaiji stared at the place where Goku had once been. Had it killed him? _It was too easy…_

And out of the smoke, Goku stood, his staff still in his hand.

__

What? Kougaiji recoiled in disbelief. He was still standing!

"What the hell are you doing?" An irate Goku snapped. There was blood by the side of his mouth, but other than that, he looked relatively unhurt. In fact, he looked pretty much pissed off. "That didn't do shit!"

…

Sanzo watched the scene, chewing on his meatbun slowly. The show had been interesting so far. Lirin, for one, had finished hers and was looking around for more.

"I'm done with mine," she chirped expectantly.

He handed one to her. "There are some more here. Want some?"

She grabbed it eagerly and beamed. "Thanks!"

Qing glanced over at the two of them and raised an eyebrow. "You're a good babysitter, Monk Boy." She observed—with fascination—that a vein had started throbbing near his forehead, and egged him on shamelessly. Watching people fight each other got boring after awhile. "You'll make a good _father_ someday, you know?" She looked him over. "But you're a monk, right? You're kind of like a eunuch or something."

He scowled. It was one thing to insult him, another to assume that he was actually celibate, and what the hell was that eunuch thing about! Hell, he broke every damn law in the book, why not the one that didn't involve jumping in the sack with a woman?

But that was beside the point. The point—the very SORE point—was that she actually thought that he was a eunuch.

"I am _not_ a fucking eunuch." he snapped icily, his male pride seriously stung.

"You mean you can actually…" she trailed off, then grimaced. "I don't know which is more disturbing, you being eunuch-like or…" Once again, she just couldn't bring herself to finish that sentence, although she had always made it a point to just spit out what was on her mind. She just couldn't imagine someone as deranged and gun-happy as he was just…urgh. She made a face.

__

Ewwwww. Information overload much?

"Stuff it, wench." He growled, pointing his gun at her, and his fingers just _itching_ to pull the damn trigger if she continued on that utterly aggravating vein. If she as much as _thought_ the word 'eunuch' in the vaguest relation to him, he really was going to KILL her.

"With pleasure. It's not like I don't have enough trauma in my life to deal with."

She was already on to more important ones—ergo, herself—and had turned back to watch the individual fights, hoping very much that they'll get this done soon so she could get out of here. The dust from the debris was wreaking havoc with her pores, and she wanted to take a long, long bath to wash the filth away. And to, once more, relish the wonder of what being squeaky clean felt like.

__

I hope there's a decent inn somewhere.

A meatbun suddenly filled her vision, and she stared at it for a moment. _Huh?_

"Take it," he snapped, fast losing his patience. The wench hadn't eaten anything much the whole day, and she'd been looking under the weather for awhile now. If she didn't eat anything, she was probably going to do something stupid—like faint—and a conscious Qing was already annoying enough without passing out and causing them even more trouble.

She peered at him. "_Where _do you keep all those buns?" It seemed like he kept materializing them out of nowhere.

"Shut up and eat it. It's not poisoned."

She paused, and decided to take it. She was hungry, anyway. "…Thanks."

Upon further reflection, a thought struck Qing. Did they just have a halfway decent conversation without reaching new heights of creative contempt for each other? She mulled over it for a grand total of one-and-a-half seconds before going back to her meatbun. There were some things that were better off _not_ dwelled on.

…

"Bastard," Kougaiji growled, mincing forward in short, deadly steps. The latest display of strength from the monkey had deeply impressed him, above all things. "What are you fighting for!"

Goku did not respond; he was still relatively relaxed, and that same infuriating little smile was on his face. The smile that spoke volumes of his unshakeable confidence. Kougaiji, for one, had never met anyone quite like him before, and it both impressed and annoyed him. Breaking into a run, he growled. "You don't have anything to protect!"

Goku didn't even flinch.

__

Why is he so strong? He thought furiously—and with more than a little hint of envy and confusion. But to hell with that, he was going to pound this little bastard's face in, then ask questions, because he was beyond pissed now. No one had ever even laid a finger on him, and this brat had just as good as wiped the floor with him. What were they fighting for? What was it that made them so strong, so sure of themselves? "You don't have anything to protect," he snarled, launching into yet another punch designed to crush Goku's face. "Well, I damn well do!"

Kougaiji did not even see him move; one second he was right in front of him, and the other, he was already airborne.

"Look, I have no idea what you're babbling about! What am I fighting for?"

Goku landed in a crouching position, his eyes gleaming with fresh challenge. "I fight for myself, of course!"

The strike from his Nyoyi staff was _yet _another thing he never saw coming.

__

Fighting for yourself? Kougaiji thought as he fell backward, dazed in more ways than one. _Is that all?_

"Kougaiji!" Dokugakuji yelled, watching as his leader fell.

"Kougaiji-sama!"

But Kougaiji was not listening, as he realized one very, very important thing. _That feeling I got the first time we fought…I felt something I lacked…Freedom, confidence, sense of self…Those are all it takes to make them strong. That is absolute power._

It was what made all four of them invincible. That was the answer he had been looking for. It was not magic that made them strong. _They _made themselves strong.

__

How stupid I am, he thought as he started to laugh. Why hadn't he discovered this sooner?

"Kougaiji-sama!" Yaone shouted, truly worried about her leader. Why was he laughing? Was he all right?

"Kougaiji, leave this to me!" Dokugakuji was sure that something was very wrong with him. Maybe he'd hit his head too hard or something. That stupid monkey was going to pay for this.

"No," The demon prince replied firmly as he got to his feet, amethyst eyes flashing. "I'm his opponent. I alone will pay him back!"

"Yeah, I'll feel bad if I don't get payback, too!" Came said opponent's cocky reply.

That particular remark rankled on Kougaiji's nerves. "Bastard, quit spouting that shit!"

"That's _my_ line!"

…

On the rooftops above them, Chin Iisou was watching the entire thing, an expression of manic glee on his face. "Oh my, oh my," he giggled to himself, enjoying everything immensely. He had not expected the others to join the Sanzo-ikkou, or these kinds of battles that unfolded as a result of that, but it was far from unpleasant. Besides, the more people killed, the better the show would be.

"How exciting! But since this party's finally started, we've got to make it flashier. Allow me to assist you all, especially you, Cho Hakkai! Or should I say, Cho Gono!" With a swift move, he ripped his earring from his ear and tossed it to the ground, murmuring a short spell.

"To Cho Gono," he announced, his eyes darkening with the malice and the anger he had harbored ever since the bastard had killed off and destroyed everyone he knew and loved. "With all my love!"

The bloodied earring hit the ground.

…

Almost instantly, the sky darkened to an inky, detritus black, gaining the attention of everyone on the ground as they halted in whatever they were doing.

And out of the darkness, two brilliant orbs of yellow emerged, and bits of debris rose to take the form of the shikigami that Lirin had destroyed earlier. Only this time, it was bigger. And obviously much more powerful.

"Goku," Sanzo snapped, on his feet immediately. "Behind you!"

"What?" Kougaiji and Goku spun around, and saw what the others were staring at.

"Now the fun begins." Chin Iisou murmured as he started to laugh. His vengeance would finally be put into motion.

The crab monster advanced, it's gigantic pincers slammed between Goku and Kougaiji, the sheer force of it sending them flying away from each other.

"Goku!" Hakkai shouted, alarmed.

"Kougaiji-sama!" Yaone screamed, very much ready to bolt to his defence.

Another pincer descended swiftly, about to finish the pair off when something blocked it's downward trajectory.

"Gojyo." Goku cried out in relief. The damn pincer thing was just less than two meters away from them, held in place by virtue of the redhead's shakujou.

Before Hakkai or Yaone could move to their rescue, however, Qing screamed. "Hakkai, watch out!"

Another pincer slammed into the spot where the two of them had once been, sending Yaone tumbling to the ground with a cry.

"Are you alright?" Hakkai asked urgently even as the gigantic pincer pulled itself out of the ground once more.

"Yeah." She replied breathlessly, struggling to get her breathing under control. She had fought many demons before, but none as large as this. How were they going to even attack?

…

"What the hell is that thing?" Goku demanded, staring up at where Gojyo was struggling to hold his own against the pincer. The monster was nothing like he'd ever seen before, and he felt the first, and very real twinge of fear. The damn thing was enormous!

Gojyo grunted. "Hurry up and run! I can't hold this forever!"

Goku was offended. "Run, whaddya mean run?"

"What I mean is, you can't take this sucker down head on!" He was about to lose the battle with the giant demon even as the pincer advanced, driving the half-breed down bit by bit.

The sudden appearance of a broadsword joined his shakujou, and threw the pincer off. Dokugakuji.

"Thanks," Gojyo nodded. "Put it on my tab."

His half-brother grinned. "Don't bother. It's no fun if things get in the way of our battle. This is just a temporary truce."

For the moment, they had reached an understanding. What was between them was forgotten for the time being; it was time to concentrate on a bigger enemy.

The towering demon reared up to its full height and prepared for another attack.

"That's weird," Lirin frowned, crossing her arms and watching the show from her vantage point on Sanzo's shoulders. Qing, who was standing beside Sanzo, was paying them no mind; she was far more interested in the giant demon and if she was going to die. "I just took that thing out."

Of course, said monk was scowling. "Oi."

"What?"

Vein pop. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"Get off me." It was that kind of deadly calm tone one uses when one really wants to kill something, but unfortunately, Lirin obviously didn't think that he was that dangerous. Or else she was under the impression that he was her playmate.

She pouted, but didn't bother to move. "You're mean."

"You are definitely going to get it." He muttered darkly.

The death threat, however, was lost on the willful little girl.

…

"It's a shikigami…" Yaone said, staring up in a mix of confusion and apprehension. "But why is it so huge?"

"So you guys didn't send it after all." Hakkai realized.

She nodded, biting her lower lip. A frown was etched on her delicate features, and she turned back to look at the approaching demon giant.

__

Which means that…his eyes hardened. _It's really Chin Iisou, the fortune teller…but what is he trying to do?_

Gojyo's sudden yelp snapped him out of his thoughts. Rubbing his head, the kappa winced, rubbing his head. "That didn't even scratch that damn thing!"

"Damn, it won't even help even if we chopped off a leg or two." Sanzo swore, glaring up at it. "If we don't blow the whole fucking thing away, it won't mean shit."

"I'll do it." Kougaiji gritted, standing beside Sanzo, not willing to let them handle THIS as well. Getting knocked around by the bastard monkey was already bad enough. He had his pride as a demon prince to think about, damn it.

"I doubt you can do it alone."

"Don't underestimate me."

The monster advanced, knocking against the building that stood in its way and dislodging large chunks of it in the process.

"Kougaiji-sama!" Yaone screamed suddenly, throwing herself in the way of the chunks of rock that was headed straight for the demon prince. There was a heavy thump, and she screamed in pain.

"Yaone!"

But someone else was faster. "Miss Yaone!" Hakkai knelt by the unconscious girl's side. "Miss Yaone!"

Kougaiji gritted his teeth as he saw Yaone's unconscious form. That was it. The bastard was going down. No one hurt what was his and got away with it. "Yaone, I'm sorry." He turned to Hakkai, who was frantically checking to see if she was all right. "Take care of her, please."

At the other man's nod, he turned back to glare at the monster, who was still steadily advancing. His fists were clenched so tightly that it was shaking. Nothing had ever managed to hurt anyone in his group, and the fact that this…thing did made him madder. "Goku."

The boy was still staring up at it, trying to find a way to bring it down. He didn't even register the fact that it was the first time Kougaiji had called him by name. "What?"

"Can you stop the shikigami's movements?"

Goku glanced at him, confused. Stop the shikigami's movements? What was he getting at? "Huh?"

"If you can halt it's movements for a little while, I can call forth a beast from the Infernal Land. That's the only way to defeat that monster."

"Right, I got you." The monkey responded as he leapt up from rooftop to rooftop. He didn't really understand the plan, but as long as it involved killing that damn thing, he was all for it.

"Monkey!" Kougaiji shouted.

Goku turned.

"I'm fighting for my own sake now," he bit out, determination in his gaze. "And I won't forgive anyone who gets in my way."

Goku chuckled, pleased that at least he was guaranteed a good fight somewhere down the line in future. "It ain't no fun unless you do it that way!"

"Listen, keep it from moving, even for an instant. Leave the rest to me!"

He smiled, trusting the other man. "I believe you, Kougaiji."

"Monkey, make sure you get out of the way."

"Right, and don't you screw up either."

He had had quite enough of the touching bonding moment. "Okay, get going already!"

"Nyoyi staff!"

…

"Damn it," Sanzo gritted as Gojyo, who was standing on the other side of him, watched the unfolding scene with casual interest. "Don't they realize that they're enemies?"

Gojyo never looked away. "Then what's that hanging onto you?"

"Pot, meet kettle." Qing remarked, sotto voce. And then she continued, unable to resist. "While the real men are off fighting, he's playing nanny to a GMCD killer thingy."

Sanzo ignored her, refusing to rise to the bait.

Gojyo smirked at her. "You just can't resist not baiting the corrupt monk for a moment, can you?"

She smiled prettily and crossed her arms. "Well duh. I've got to get rid of my boredom somehow."

"Maybe you could explore different ways to keep your damn trap shut." Came the acid response from the irked monk. "You talk too much."

Qing was about to start on a particularly vicious rejoinder when Lirin leaned forward, resting her arms on Sanzo's head—effectively interrupting the other young woman. "Hey, I wanna get in there and play, too! I mean, I got rid of it last time."

"This thing looks totally different from the other one," the redhead kappa noted with interest.

Lirin turned to him. "No, I'm not!"

"Then get down already!" The annoyed monk snapped, but made no move to dislodge her.

"Just leave it to them," Gojyo told her, barely keeping the amusement out of his voice. "Leave it to your brother."

…

Said brother was currently chanting something, in a language that was long dead even before the first man on earth was born.

Chin Iisou watched them with interest. "So you like my little entertainment after all?"

Before him, the monkey—Goku—leapt and slammed onto it with his Nyoyi staff, but the giant creature did not seem fazed in the least. Landing lightly on the ground, he glared up at the creature.

"Oh my, these friends of yours…" he giggled to himself. "They're so lively, Cho Gono!"

At the sound of his old name, Hakkai's head whipped up, eyes wide.

…

Kougaiji was still chanting, and Qing shifted uncomfortably at the gradual surge of dark power that now formed between his hands. A strange kind of light suffused the chanting prince even as he stood directly in front of the approaching giant demon. A little way from him, Goku stood, waiting for his chance to attack. The situation was tense at best, and even Qing was quiet.

Well, not for long. "Hey, look." She tugged at the sleeve of the person closest to her, which just so happened to be Sanzo. "It's Alien Guy on the roof." Her eyes darkened. "He sent that GMCD thingy, didn't he?"

Sanzo shot her a withering look. "What do you think?"

"Enjoy this moment while you can," Chin Iisou announced, unperturbed at being found out and currently having everyone's—with the exception of Goku's and Kougaiji's—attention. "After all, you're all about to die."

Qing rolled her eyes. "Cliched much? I think he watched too much _Buffy._" She paused for a moment. "Do you think if we shot him that demon thingy will disappear?" She was already reaching for her arrows. The guy with the blue hair just unnerved her too much. And it's not like he was human, anyway.

"You just gave him an idea on what to expect, you idiot." Sanzo replied coldly.

Qing glared at him and stubbornly loaded her bow. In a swift maneuver, she pulled the string taut and released. With a whoosh, the arrow sped towards it's target—

—and the target reached out and gripped it tightly, stopping it inches away from his heart. The arrow's shaft bit viciously into his skin even as he closed his fingers around it, but he felt no pain.

Chin Iisou simply giggled, a mad, high-pitched giggle. "You have spirit, little girl. Such fire. You'll be an amusing addition to the show, if I may add." Faster than the eye could see, he pitched the arrow back towards her. With a short scream, Qing jumped back, the arrow landing with a solid _thunk_ at where she would be a millisecond ago.

"Miss Qing!" Hakkai shouted worriedly. He needn't have worried, because said girl was currently close to hysterical. And pissed.

"Hello, you almost stabbed me in the foot with that, you homicidal maniac!"

But Chin Iisou had already lost all interest in her, and turned back to his chief target, the young man—no, youkai—who was now glaring at him with those icy, brilliant emerald eyes. He could almost see a spark of Cho Hakkai's former, vicious self, and he had to smile. _Ah, Cho Gono, it's been awhile, isn't it?_

"Say, Cho Gono, wouldn't you agree that the more precious things you have, the more you've got to lose?"

…


	5. Buried Memories, Old Dreams

__

The Greek Goddess Hecate reminds us of the importance of change, helping us to release the past, especially of those things that are hindering our growth, and to accept change and transitions. She sometimes asks us to let go of what is familiar, safe, and secure and to travel to the scary places of the soul. She can lead us to see things differently (ourselves included) and help us find greater understanding of ourselves and others. She loans her farsightedness for you to see what lies deeply forgotten or even hidden, and helps you make a choice and find your path."

****

AN: I'm sorry, but I forgot the exact webpages for it…if this particular passage is yours, please email me and let me know so I can acknowledge it… Thanks!

I've changed the Egyptian goddess Isis to Greek ones because they're more interesting.

…

…

"Let's do it, Kougaiji!" Goku shouted as he leapt through the air.

Kougaiji looked up as his hands trembled around the portal he'd just opened. The sheer power of it was nothing short of overwhelming. "Dodge, Goku! Let me apologize for one thing, I had doubts about the path I was walking, but not anymore! I've got more important than good or evil can measure, so I'm fighting for my own sake!"

"Is that so?" Goku grunted, more focused on finding out how to stop the gigantic shikigami from moving than anything. "Extending Nyoyi Staff!"

The Nyoyi staff pierced clear through the demon's belly, halting the monster for one crucial moment. And that one moment was what Kougaiji had needed, even as the small portal exploded to more than a hundred times it's normal size.

"Kougaiji!"

"Come forth, ENGOKUKI!"

A hideous monster like nothing they'd ever seen rushed out from the portal and completely devoured the giant shikigami. If Qing didn't know better, she could've sworn that it was a scene straight out of a Power Rangers TV show she'd seen when she was a kid.

There was an enormous explosion, and it was day again.

…

A few thousand miles away, a bored Empress Gyokumen fixed her scientist—and sometime lover—with one of her stares. "I just felt a large magical disturbance in the East."

It was the woman scientist who chose to answer. She didn't bother to remember her name. "Yes. Lord Kougaiji just summoned a demon."

"I see."

Nii observed her casually. "You don't seem very interested."

"Did you think I would be, Nii?"

"Who knows?" He shrugged. "Well, not that it matters either way."

The self-proclaimed Empress leaned forward, onto much more important things. "So, is Lirin unharmed?"

"My, my, just like the great Empress Gyokumen to worry about her own child." Another of Nii's assistants popped up.

She turned to him disdainfully. "Of course. After all, we really need her for the resurrection of Gyuumaou. Isn't that right, Nii?"

Nii made no response; he simply shrugged.

She continued, slightly mocking this time. "Well now, you're the one who made the discovery."

"No, I merely reported the results of my research."

"Either way is fine." She stretched languorously on her throne and smiled. "As long as Gyuumaou is resurrected, everything is just fine for me. I'll have everything I want in the palm of my hand. All of you, my beloved."

She laughed, exceedingly pleased.

…

The dust was overwhelming even as Goku and Gojyo coughed. Qing had her hand firmly clapped over her nose and mouth, and made it a point not to breathe unless she _really_ had to. Who knew what that kind of dust could do to her lungs?

"Did we get it?" Goku choked, squinting.

"Looks like it," the redhead replied. The place was a bigger mess than it was earlier, and he could barely make out the forms of Kougaiji and his people as they stood before them.

"Kougaiji." Goku spoke, watching him carefully. Was the guy up for yet another fight?

"We're withdrawing for today," he said calmly. "Given the massive interference and all."

Sanzo simply grunted.

Then he turned to Goku. "I had doubts about the path I was taking. I believe it was rude to challenge you with a confused mind. But next time will be different. Next time, I will defeat you for my own sake." There was a small smile on his handsome face now.

"You haven't gotten to double payback yet," Goku replied, a tad imperiously. But he felt a strange sense of pride, nonetheless. If Kougaiji had not been his enemy, they could've been very good friends.

"Put it on my tab. I'll pay it back soon enough."

"Testosterone overload much?" Qing muttered. And when they both turned to look at her, she raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"San-zo!" Lirin chirped happily. "Let's play again when I come back!"

Yet another vein pop and a patented scowl. "Who'd want to play with a shitty little brat like you?"

"Next time, bring me a souvenir." Gojyo remarked to his half-brother, who simply nodded and smirked.

"You better make sure you've got tea waiting." Came the equally cocky response.

"Make sure you treat the wound with care," Hakkai said kindly to a smiling Yaone, who nodded gratefully and murmured a soft 'thank you'.

"Be well, everyone."

And they disappeared. No evil lines of 'we're going to get you' or 'die, morons die!' or anything, which baffled Qing all the more. But then again, the circumstances under which the two groups met had been nothing short of strange.

"She told us all to be well," Goku commented, vaguely amused. No nemesis of his had ever told him _that_ before. Oh well, strange things happened sometimes.

Gojyo chuckled, musing at the bizarreness of it all. This was one of the most civil goodbyes he'd ever received from a group that was meant to be their enemy. It seemed like they were good people; only they were fighting on the wrong side. "One helluva group of enemies we've got there."

"I'm sure they're just somebody else's pawns." Sanzo said, his eyes thoughtful. "Some dumbass who's trying to resurrect Gyuumaou and plunge this world into chaos is behind Kougaiji. They're the real enemy we need to defeat."

"And the plot just gets thicker and thicker." Qing sighed, then looked up to the sky. "Hey Goddess, can I go home _now_?"

No response.

She sagged, disappointed. "Guess I'm stuck with you guys for now."

Sanzo calmly lit a cigarette. "It's the other way round, wench."

She glared at him. "Do you _mind_?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Smoking. I'd like to not die of lung cancer. At least wait till we get out of here and I'm far away from you or something."

He shrugged and ignored her, idly blowing out a stream of smoke in her general direction. The wench was just so easy to rile sometimes.

"How come you don't tell the kappa to stop smoking?" Goku asked curiously. "The guy smokes more than Sanzo does."

"Because he's less aggravating. And because now is not a good time to smoke. God knows what smoke combined with prehistoric building dust will do to my lungs."

Sanzo grunted as he puffed on his cigarette. "You're a true picture of selflessness."

She scowled at him. "Speak for yourself, smoke breath."

He was not impressed. "If that's supposed to be an insult, you're losing your touch."

"Anyway, let's leave this city." Hakkai suddenly spoke before things could really get going.

"Right," Gojyo shrugged as they turned to leave with a grousing Qing in tow.

A sound behind them caught Hakkai's attention, and he turned. With a gasp, he recognized the yin/yang symbol that was painted on a chunk of rock lying at his feet. _Is that the identity of that shikigami, and of that fortune teller, Chin Iisou?_

He bent down to pick it up to look at it more closely, and it crumbled apart in his hands, revealing a mahjong tile that bore the word; _Sin_.

He could almost see Chin Iisou's face now, even as his earlier words resounded in his mind. _You have the eyes of a sinner, yes you do…_

The revelation was like an iron punch to the gut even as he fell to his feet and gagged, the memories rushing through him with an almost painful intensity. The word seemed to glare out at him accusingly. _Sin._

Sin…

At his cry, the rest of the group stopped in their tracks.

"Hakkai, what's wrong?" Gojyo asked, frowning.

"Nothing…" he panted, his chest heaving as Qing put a hand on his shoulder. "N-n-nothing at all."

He stared down at the mahjong tile as cold realization crept through him like a lizard. _I…I know those eyes. But from where? Who is he? Who, exactly, is he?_

…

"How long are you going to have her stay here?" Kanzeon drawled even as Hecate watched the world, an expression of vague amusement on her face. An Greek chthonian goddess in all her finery looked out of place here, but none of them bothered. Pantheons generally stuck to their own worlds, but crossing dimensions and interacting with other pantheons were not unheard of, either.

"Until she learns her lesson." The goddess shook her head as she smoothed out her silver-white robes. "I've never had this much trouble with any of the Daughters before, you know. It's such a pity that the Blood runs in her veins instead of the other one. That other girl shows more potential; this ignorant girl only knows how to fight me every step of the way."

The other goddess considered that; not wanting to even question Hecate on why she didn't want to bring that other one here instead. Greek gods worked in sometimes incomprehensible ways. Nonetheless, she eyed her shrewdly. "You didn't send her here just because you felt like it. Why them?"

"Because you still owed me a favor," She smirked, then turned back to watch them. "And just look at your four champions. They've got so much to learn. I've watched them for a long while, and I know that someday they'll convince that chit that her birthright is not her curse. She has a lot to learn from them. And perhaps…she might teach them something in return."

"Like how to properly irritate someone, for one."

The Greek queen of witchery smiled slightly despite her next words. "You don't say."

Kanzeon cocked her head to the side. It wasn't often that one saw the shrewd and cunning goddess that soft. "She's your favourite, isn't she?"

"She's the granddaughter of my favourite. There's a difference. Besides, Jarenna died here. It's only fitting that her granddaughter comes here, too."

"Come to think of it, she's got her grandmother's eyes." That particular witch had been relatively well-known. Not as well known or as recognized as a Sanzo, but formidable in her own right. It was a pity that she'd passed away ten years ago. And she'd been so young, merely a few days over fifty. "I wonder if this Sanzo will find blue eyes as enchanting as his master did."

Hecate looked even more amused. "What do you think? It's obvious they despise each other. And Jarenna was nowhere was obnoxious as Qing is."

Kanzeon studied her closely, not intent on letting her off the hook so fast. "I know how you think, Hecate. You plucked Qing from her world and her time to put her with Koumyou's ward for a reason." Gods generally transcended time and dimensions, but the fact that Hecate had actually made an effort to put that witch's granddaughter here—with this Sanzo, of all people—made it seem all the more fishy.

Hecate said nothing, and simply smiled. It was obvious that the goddess was not going to spill the beans. Instead, she simply said. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not. It's added entertainment, especially with what you're going to allow later on." A lazy smile crept across her face.

"Consider it a gentle.…nudge in the right direction." Contrary to popular belief, the girl was not here to be punished; she was here to learn.

"If that's a _nudge_, I wouldn't want to be around for the _shove, _fun as it may sound. Did you know what your girl told me? She actually had the cheek to tell me not to slather on too much moisturizer at one go because I looked cakey. It took me all I had not to blast her to oblivion for that one."

The goddess laughed. "That's not as bad as the one she blurted about that Sanzo boy. I have to applaud his self-control; he hadn't shot her, after all."

Kanzeon snorted derisively. "Sanzo didn't shoot her because he just figured that he'd be wasting his bullet."

"No wonder he's your nephew. I can see the similarities already."

"It runs in the family." She tilted her head slightly, a mildly amused light in her dark eyes. "She doesn't know, does she?"

"Know what?"

"Her ancestry."

"No. Her head is already swollen enough. Besides, I don't think she even knows or cares who Selene is."

"She's the last of the line."

"Yes." She sighed. "But Selene's still pining over that shepherd to care too much about what happens to her bloodline." Only her eyes betrayed her extreme annoyance, for Hecate was a goddess who was known also as a protector of children; namely, to restore their health and aid their growth; it was one of the reasons Hecate had been drawn to Qing.

Kanzeon rolled her eyes. "Silly wench."

She sighed. "Yeah. She and Artemis got into a huge fight the other day. You know how Artemis is—I'll bet she has something to do with the drastic rise of feminism in the mortal realm. Not that I mind, really—But sometimes she can be so…annoyingly stubborn when it comes to romantic love, and even Apollo can't seem to be able to get through to her. She told Selene straight in the face that she was pathetic."

"And she didn't take it too well, I suppose."

"Zeus had to come down personally to settle _that_ one, and Hera isn't too happy with Artemis at the moment." She sighed tiredly. "It's a regular madhouse back there, you know." She paused for a moment, then spoke. "Quite frankly, I don't understand why Artemis is making such a big deal out of it. It's not like she's a virgin either. Remember the affair she had with Orion before Apollo tricked her into killing him?"

Kanzeon raised an idle eyebrow at that, but said nothing.

The other goddess went on, more to herself than to the Goddess of Mercy. "It's not like any of the gods and goddesses in Mount Olympus are virgins. Even the Erinyes are involved, although they actively deny it."

"I thought you were a virgin goddess."

"Of course not. I just didn't want to be tied down by marriage. These are two very different things."

The Goddess of Mercy yawned, suddenly bored with the conversation. The Greek pantheons were so strangely complicated, and she just couldn't bother keeping up with the latest soap opera-like happenings. Maybe that was why Hecate kept visiting. Ah well. "Come on, Hecate. It's been awhile since you've been here, haven't you?"

"True. Well, what do you want to do?"

"How about a game of chess? I'm still sore about you winning the previous few matches."

"It's because I'm smarter than you, that's why." And it was also because Athena had taught her a thing or two. One could learn many things from the goddess of wisdom and war. Little, ego-bruising things like she could never win in a game of chess with Athena no matter how she tried, for one.

"Oh, you are definitely going to have to eat those words when I'm through with you."

…

__

"I never wanted you… you were a mistake. It wasn't supposed to be this way…"

The words, soft and lilting, dogged her every step as she ran, desperate for a way—any way—out. She'd been running for as long as she could remember, but it was always the same thing.

It was always dark, and that voice was always whispering.

She ran, and came to a heavy oaken door. She pushed against it, but it refused to open.

Lightning flashed, and a skull that had been embedded in the door leered down at her. With a scream, she backed away from it and continued running.

The shadows were catching up, and the voice grew louder. It was always the same three sentences, echoing eerily over and over again.

She ran.

There was a dead end, but there were faces within the walls. Demonic, bloodied faces, mutilated beyond recognition, and laughing. They were all laughing at her.

She inhaled sharply and turned to run back the way she came, but before her loomed the crossroads. A pole was in the middle, and on it, three demonic heads were hung, their eyes staring at her sightlessly. Right, or left? Where could she run?

Closing her eyes, she took the right road, but she didn't have to run far. A little girl no older than four stood before her, a huge, ornately carved book in her hands.

That girl was her.

She stopped short, stunned.

The little girl stared up at her, blue eyes hauntingly effulgent in the darkness. She smiled, a smile utterly devoid of malice. Or, she realized—blood running cold—any emotion.

And the little girl began to sing, her whispery voice sounding unnervingly clear.

"Row, row, row your boat

Gently down the stream,

Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily

Life is but a dream…"

Then the voice seemed to change, becoming hideous chorus of sepulchral grunts and snarls that chilled her to the bone. Then a soft voice. "Help…Find mine."

The Book of Spells fell to the floor with a jarring thump, right between her and the little girl, and it opened to a cream, blank page.

It was not blank for long, even as blood crept down like vines from the top of the little girl's head and down her porcelain skin, tracking deep marks into the snowy whiteness of it to seep into the book.

The girl's ivory-white fingers reached for her, blood weaving tiny patterns on her hand as it dripped off tapered fingernails.

She recoiled.

And in front of her horrified eyes, the girl crumbled into dust as the Book absorbed all her blood and essence, leaving the girl as an emaciated corpse that leered up hollowly at her.

"Row, row, row your boat…"

The Book exploded at her in a rush of pure scarlet, the smell of blood and death overpowering her.

Qing screamed.

"It wasn't supposed to be this way…"

…

Qing bolted awake, a hoarse scream tearing from her throat. And then there was pain, that familiar, blinding pain that gathered behind her eyes and assaulted her senses.

Through the haze of pain, she dimly thought she saw bright emerald eyes, inches away from her face. "Miss Qing?"

Something was holding her shoulders. The warmth—the warmth was too much to take. The warmth of the blood when it spilled over her felt altogether too much like this.

Blinded by the intense agony, she lashed out, hitting those hands away. "No! Get away from me!"

"Miss Qing, talk to me! Are—" She vaguely remembered the voice, and winced as it caused her head to throb even more. It was as if her brain was trying to kill her or something, the way it pounded in her skull. "Miss Qing, are you all right? Talk to me! Are—"

"Will it kill you to just stop talking for a moment?" she snapped grouchily, immediately regretting the action because her brain decided that it didn't like her to use her vocal chords, and exhibited it's disagreement by sending yet another a sharp arrow through her cranium, making her groan. Clutching at her head, she muttered. "This is definitely not the best way to wake up from a nightmare. Ugh."

__

My, it seems like Miss Qing has been going to the Sanzo school of charm and tact. He mused, relieved that she was not torn to pieces by rampaging demons or anything.

Qing's thoughts, however, were less amused. Why couldn't she just wake up from that nightmare without adding any smidgen of pain into that equation? It was bad enough that that stupid dream had scared the stuffing out of her, but did it have to come with that pain, too?

"A nightmare?" Hakkai's voice was quiet even as he relaxed. He had felt no demonic aura in or around the room, which meant that she was safe.

Qing managed to muster a scowl as she winced again at the pain, closing her eyes. "Hakkai. Right now my brain is waging a nuclear war on the rest of my body, and it's trying to kamikaze itself in the most painful way possible, so kindly refrain from speaking to me or even _thinking_ at me, okay? And do you have extra-strength Tylenol?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Knock-out gas would be fine, too." She gritted her teeth as another wave of pain threatened her consciousness. God how she wished she was dead now; the pain was unbearable. It was like having eighty men wrestling in her brain, like those lame wrestling shows that were trying to emulate 'Days of Our Lives' or something equally incomprehensible. It wasn't without it's merit, though. That particular jolt of pain meant that the worst was over.

She opened her eyes. He was standing by her bedside, the half-moon that poured in from the window illuminating his entire form, making him look almost angelic. And those eyes, those brilliant green eyes…

__

Can any man be termed as absolutely beautiful? She wondered idly, then shook off that errant thought. Darn it, she must've been more traumatized than she thought she was. Tiredly, she rubbed at her eyes, then her temples; the headache was still there, but it had dulled to an almost acceptable level of pain, leaving her free to ask questions. "How did you get in here? I locked that door."

He smiled sheepishly and held something up. "I asked for a skeleton key when we checked in. Sanzo got tired of having to pay for broken doors." He paused. "I hope this isn't too…improper of me."

"It's not. Unless you have a fetish of busting into girls' rooms at night." Before he could respond, she hastily added. "If you do, please don't tell me about it. It's bad enough finding out that Monk Boy can have sex."

Hakkai chuckled. "Of course not."

She frowned. That wasn't much of an answer, and she forged on. "Okay. And you're standing here in my room in the middle of the night because?"

His worry had long since faded to mild concern and amusement. "You were screaming, and I thought your room was under attack too."

She stiffened. "Too? Why do I not like the sound of that?"

"One of them tried to ambush me in my room a couple of hours ago." He shrugged. "Terribly rude of him. Sanzo and the others have already gone back to sleep after they dealt with theirs."

She stared at him in amazement. A demon thingy had just attacked the man in his _sleep,_ and he could still be so nonchalant about it! Maybe the guy been ambushed one too many times and was now strangely warped and thought it was the norm or something. Oh well. That would pretty much be his problem, not hers, so she wasn't going to bother.

But then again, if he got warped because he got attacked one too many times, what did that say about the frequency of night attacks?

She groaned. This entire stuck-in-another-world-with-a-bunch-of-losers situation was getting steadily worse. "Are you telling me that getting jumped on by assorted disgusting demons in the night is a regular occurrence or something? I mean, hello? I don't know about you, but I so need my beauty sleep. How am I going to get my eight hours if they decide to come after me, too?" It was bad enough camping out and sleeping on rock-hard ground or on the uncomfortable Jeep on most nights, and now she had to put up with demons wrecking her REM cycles when she FINALLY slept on a real bed? Torture much?

REM cycles were extremely delicate things; mess one step up and say goodbye to a good night's rest and recuperation. God, it was such an arduous task trying to stay beautiful in this hellhole of a place. Didn't anyone here even remotely know the fine art of keeping themselves sparklingly spotless and grump-free?

"It sounds worse than it really is." Came his amiable reply. He thought for a moment. "I guess you just kind of…get used to it."

"Get used to it? That is definitely not the most helpful of comments." Qing snapped as she squinted around at her darkened room, a feeling of dread rising in the pit of her stomach. Nothing moved, but one could never be too safe. Besides, how was she supposed to go back to sleep when he said something like that? What if one of them was waiting under her bed?

She shuddered. Monk Boy and his merry men might be accustomed to night attacks, but she _so_ wasn't. _Great, first with the nightmare and the pain, and now this. Conducive to sleepiness much?_ She glanced over at Hakkai, remembering his comforting presence. Well, he was going to have to do, then. It wasn't much, but it was something.

"Miss Qing—?" Hakkai yelped as she suddenly grabbed him by the front of his nightshirt and yanked him downwards.

"There's no way in hell I'm going to sleep alone tonight," she barked, casting a fearful glance around the dark room, expecting a butt-ugly demon to jump out at them any moment. "So you're sleeping with me."

__

What? He thought. "What?"

"What if those demon thingies decide to come for me later when you leave?" she demanded as she let go of him, scooting over on the bed to make space for him. To hell with the guys-must-sleep-apart-from-girls crap. Her life was in danger here, and between that particularly vivid nightmare that had wrapped up so beautifully with a splitting migraine and the looming threat of a demon attack, she was seriously wigging. She didn't even bother to register that she looked like a total mess in front of a guy, something that, if she had been in her right frame of mind, would have mortified her to no end.

"But I can't—what about—"

"Look," she said, exhaling loudly and immediately regretting the action, because it seemed to make the headache worse. "You're the only one I can trust who won't kick me, try to kill me, or have sex with me in my sleep, okay? It's not like I can go out and ask any other guy down the hall or something, considering I'm possibly the most beautiful woman they'd ever laid their perverted and icky eyes on. And possibly the most hygienically-inclined, too. Besides, they make Gojyo look like a nun."

She paused when she realized she was babbling; her tough-as-nails act falling away for a brief moment as she rubbed her upper arms, trying to dispel a chill.

When Hakkai said nothing and simply stared at her—_Is there any other woman in the entire world who can be as self-adulated as she is?_ Of course, her statement was not exactly untrue, but once again, he marveled at her blatant lack of humility_—_she continued, and this time her tone was slightly hesitant. "And I don't want to be sleeping alone tonight."

What she had refused to say was that once again, that particular nightmare left her afraid and in need of company. As a general rule, Qing hated being a damsel in distress unless she wanted something from the guy who was doing the 'rescuing', but in this world, it seemed like it was all she ever was. It would've sorely grated on her nerves if she currently had control of all of her processes, but now she just needed the company.

And a bodyguard. For some inexplicable reason, she had found herself trusting Hakkai fully—she supposed it reflected in her behavior towards him, too, because he was the only one in the group she didn't bother to insult.

Not very much, anyway.

On his end, he was hesitating. He hadn't slept with a woman since…since Kanan, and now that he was faced with this situation, it was nothing short of being extremely awkward. Especially since he noted that particular flicker of vulnerability in her eyes.

The nightmare must've affected her more than she'd let on, he realized.

She glared at him, patting the sheets impatiently. "Are you getting in or not? My REM cycle's already disturbed enough. If I don't sleep soon, I'm going to have eyebags the size of Goku's stomach in the morning."

"Miss Qing, I just—"

She took his hand and tugged him down sharply so that he stumbled on the bed. "Oh please, stop being such a wimp. I'm not going to jump you or anything."

Hesitantly, he laid down on top of the sheets, careful to keep a little distance away from her. The memories of Kanan, of simply sleeping by her side, waking up and taking in every bit of her beautiful face came back to him. It had been a good few years now, and the memories—the wounds—still didn't seem to fade.

Neither did the pain.

Closing his eyes, he briefly wondered why the memories of Kanan had come back to haunt him with an increased ferocity these past couple of days. He would see her face and her breathtaking smile in his sleep, hear that lovely voice he had missed with a heartbreaking intensity…

…and he would see her die once again.

__

Kanan, he thought with a sigh. He had dreamt of her a thousand times ever since her death and the destruction of Hyakuganmaou's kingdom. And every single time, he had saved her, and they had lived happily ever after.

It was the hardest thing to bear, the thought that he had been so close, and yet had never been farther. He—

"Are you a virgin or something?" Came Qing's sudden question.

Hakkai blinked, jolted out of his thoughts and taken completely by surprise at that abrupt and totally unexpected question. "I beg your pardon?"

She shifted in her bed to look at where he lay stiffly beside her, as if afraid to even feel her presence. "You look like you're wigging. Are you a virgin?"

"Uh—no. I'm not." Gojyo was right, she was definitely an unpredictable one all right. "Why do you ask?"

She lay back down, turning her back on him. Clearly, she was not interested in answering his question, and was far more absorbed in asking some of her own. "Let me guess. Traumatic relationship issues with the ex?"

Hakkai was silent for a long moment, unable to answer. Finally, he spoke. "How did you know?"

"Intuition. It's not a guy power."

He was silent. _Intuition's not a guy power, huh? _Was that why he could not feel Kanan's fear on that fateful day? It still plagued him, the thought that he couldn't have sensed that she was in danger even though it was obvious that they were soulmates. Was it as simple as what Qing had said? Maybe men did not have the kind of intuitive power that women had. But what consolation was that to him? The fact remained that Kanan was gone, and it was all his fault for not being there to protect her.

Maybe his dreams had been affecting him more than he'd expected, too. He had not had these kinds of thoughts for a long while now, not since the appearance of the mysterious fortune-teller that seemed to have it in for him. 

Although she was generally insensitive at the best of times and plain rude at the worst, Qing knew when it was time to leave things alone. _Maybe, _she thought, _that's the reason why his eyes look so sad all the time, even when he's laughing._

"You know," she said suddenly. "I never expected that you, of all people, are the first guy I've ever slept with in my life."

He didn't know whether to be complimented or insulted at that. "You're still a virgin?"

"Well duh. As if I want to do it with any of the guys back home. They're the embodiment of infantile." She rolled her eyes. There were a couple of memorable ones she was still trying her darndest to forget. "I mean, all they could ever think of was sex and football and brainless guy stuff. How sophisticated is that?" She was starting to ramble. Honestly, with her around, there was never such a thing as an awkward silence. "And the occasional time I get a good catch, they're mostly mind-numbingly boring. I mean, there is only so much you can go on about your stock portfolio before I start to fall asleep in my wine or something. How about you?"

"How about me what?"

"What was your ex like? I mean, you loved her a lot, didn't you?"

"It's getting late, Miss Qing," he said gently; his tone betraying none of the immense sadness he was feeling. He was not ready to share, not yet. And, he supposed, not anytime in the near future. The pain was just too raw.

She huffed. "Well I'd like—"

"Good night, Miss Qing."

"Oh all right. 'Night, Hakkai. Don't fall off the bed or anything. And try not to hog the covers if you're feeling cold; I like being warm."

"Of course."

There was another silence even as Hakkai stared up at the ceiling, unable to get to sleep. It was something that he had not told her. Unlike the others who had gone back to sleep, he had found that almost impossible—he had been afraid that the dreams of Kanan and her death would plague him as it did long ago, and so he stayed up and simply…well, brooded. Maybe that was why he heard her screaming all too clearly.

The cessation of sound in the room didn't last long, however. It should be noted that whenever Qing was around and not asleep, total silence for any stretch of time belonged to the exceedingly rare category.

"Hakkai?"

"Yes?" he asked warily. Was she about to prod him about his relationship issues again?

There was a short pause. "Thank you."

He blinked. Once again, she surprised him with her words. Then he smiled slightly. "You're welcome. Sweet dreams."

"At this point I'm just hoping for a sweet, dream-free sleep."

"Me, too."

__

Kanan, his mind sighed. It was hours before he allowed himself to fall asleep. And when he slept, he dreamt of her once again.

…

You used to captivate me by your resonating light

Now I'm bound by the life you left behind

Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me

These wounds won't seem to heal

This pain is just too real

There's just too much that time cannot erase

But you still have all of me…

…

Darkjade: LOL, I'm sorry I couldn't send you this finished copy for reading, but hey. Remember that lobster and the makeover thingy? And that cage and handcuffs thing we talked about yesterday. Oh that's going to keep me in stitches for the entire day. One can never be too hentai, I tell you. Especially when it comes to you-know-who. Cheers, man!

Somnambulist: Hello! Thanks for your generous compliments!

Georgia: Of course not, girl! Thanks for reading and reviewing my story!


	6. Imposters Part One

…

Fifty demons, three weeks, two villages, and a partridge in a pear tree later, the gang was speeding merrily along in the large expanse of desert, a few miles away from the next village.

Qing was in a rare mood on this particular day as she lay back, happily basking in the sun in anticipation of a good tan. Having travelled with them for the past couple of months, she'd decided that although they were weirdos—and she would never have associated with them had she been in her own world even if Cindy Crawford asked her to—they were beginning to grow on her like Chia Pets. Yep, even that homicidal monk with the major attitude problem. Okay, not really, but hey. The man was in a league all by himself.

Anyway, she figured that she was going to be stuck here for awhile, so she might as well make something out of it. Hence the acquiring of a tan.

"Hey Sanzo," Goku started, rearing up into a full-fledged, utterly predictable whine on the status of his digestive system. "When are we reaching? I'm hungryyyyyy!"

Gritting his teeth, Sanzo rested his head on a hand while the other automatically reached into his robes for his gun. He could feel a headache coming on already…he should've known that the peace was too good to last. He just hoped the wench didn't decide to join in this time. It was already annoying enough dealing with those two idiots without adding another moron to the mix.

"Yo dude," Gojyo, as usual, would never pass up on a chance to bicker with the monkey. He rolled his eyes. "Do you ever say anything except 'I'm hungry' day in day out? The saying 'monkeys only know one trick' must be true, then."

Deeply offended, Goku growled and moved to lunge towards the redhead when he was stopped by the amused kappa's hand. "What the hell did that mean, you perverted kappa?" he demanded angrily, oblivious to Sanzo's growing aggravation. "You're the one with sponge for brains instead of gray matter!"

Gojyo was even more amused. Goku had never showed any signs of creativity in insulting him before, and he doubted that the monkey even had the capacity to do so. Which meant that someone intelligent had taught it to him. There was no better candidate than the monkey's guardian. But then again… "If you don't know the meaning of that phrase, you might as well not use it, you dumbass monkey!"

"Shut up, you perverted kappa! Of course I know what that damn phrase means! That's why I'm saying it!"

"Oh, really? Explain it to me, then. Go on."

Goku growled even as Gojyo deliberately ground his hand against his temple in a bid to annoy him even more. "Go on, then. Tell me about it." Came the good-natured taunt.

Goku, when pushed to the limits—

—behaved like so: "Sanzoooooo…"

That was it. Sanzo could feel his blood pressure bubbling over. Growling, he rubbed his temple to ease the sudden throbbing that always mysteriously occurred whenever the two of them were arguing. "Shut the fuck up."

He was right! "So you were the one who taught the monkey how to say that, you corrupt monk!" Gojyo crowed, pushing Goku backwards as he latched onto a more interesting target.

"What did I teach him? I don't know what you're talking about." Said monkey's guardian responded evasively.

"All you monks really know how to act dumb. You damn well know what I'm talking about!"

"Can you move?" Qing interrupted lazily, not bothering to look up to where they were arguing. "You're in my light."

All of them ignored her.

"I told you I don't know what you're talking about!" came the annoyed reply. Hakkai, for one, simply smiled. This was shaping up to be a prelude to an interesting show.

"But Sanzo," Goku protested. "You said it last time when he—"

"Hey, everyone," Hakkai spoke up. "We're reaching the village. Please just stop—" he trailed off when no one was listening to him.

"If you want to blame anyone, blame Sanzo!" Goku complained loudly.

"Look, can't you two just fucking get along!" Said monk demanded peevishly even as the two of them bickered on.

A sharp shove to both their shoulders interrupted the pair's quarrelling as Qing finally sat back up, glaring at them through her sunglasses. "What are you people, deaf?" she demanded waspishly. "Get out of my light, you're spoiling my tan!"

"Oh well…" Hakkai sighed as the quarrel went on again; this time both Sanzo and Qing were added to the mix, thereby making the backseat resemble something like a world war. The serene youkai laughed to himself, amused at the insults that were flying around in abundance in the back. "This should make for a peaceful afternoon…"

…

This village—unlike the last two—was buzzing with activity. Children who had just returned from yet another storytelling session about the legendary Sanzo priest from the village's oldest and wisest man were now playing make-believe. For the more hyperactive children, they chafed at this and promptly launched into a customary game of tag.

"Food! Food! Food! Time for some food!" an elated Goku sang loudly as he bounced along in front of the group, all of whom were observing their surroundings idly. "Eat, eat, eat…"

"From the look of things, food and lodging shouldn't be a problem." Hakkai said happily. If he was lucky, he could even have a chance to stock up on the food supplies today.

"I need clothes, too." Qing tucked her sunglasses into her purse.

"If you didn't keep throwing your clothes out when you thought I wasn't looking, maybe—"

"Hakkai. You're a _guy._ What do you know about girls and clothes?"

"Hmm. That's a good point."

"Now the only problem is how many beautiful women are around here," Gojyo drawled, his eyes already busy scanning the crowd for someone to warm his bed tonight.

Sanzo snorted, mildly amused. The kappa really had a one-track mind, he decided. The idiot—

—he stopped in surprise as a kid ran into him, and quite literally bounced off his legs, landing on her butt. It was a child no older than eight.

"I'm sorry!" she winced as she rubbed her sore bottom. "We were playing tag…" she trailed off as she stared at the person standing directly in front of her. In addition to being the most handsome man she had ever seen in her entire life…

"Are you okay?" Hakkai said pleasantly, bending down. "You mustn't run in the street, you know. It's dangerous."

The little girl wasn't registering whatever he said. Rather, she gasped as she realized what she was seeing. _White clothing, a sutra draped over both shoulders, and purple eyes that seems to see right through people…_she grinned excitedly. "You must be High Priest Sanzo!"

At her shrill exclamation, everyone turned. They'd heard of the legendary High Priest Sanzo from the village's wise man, and now that a real Sanzo was here… "Oh my God!"

"Is it true?"

The whisperings and soft exclamations of delight and wonder intensified as more and more people finally noticed the five travelers and the little white dragon.

"The High Priest…"

"Wow…!"

"Look! It's the High Priest…"

It was a classic moment for Genjo Sanzo, the badass, trigger happy, foulmouthed monk, who at the best of times was dangerous, and at the worst was downright hazardous. Because this time, as the people crowded around them and murmured among themselves in wonder, he seemed to be no more dangerous than a rabbit; especially with that strangely endearing deer-in-the-headlights look.

__

What the f—

…

The scrutiny got worse even as all five of them sat at a long table facing what looked like to be the whole damned village. Sanzo was inwardly cringing at the amount of attention given to them, and Gojyo simply looked bored. Qing, for one, was curious. She turned to Goku, who was seated beside her and watching the crowd with interest. "Why are they looking at us like we're the second coming or something?"

"I don't know…"

"Everyone, please be quiet," the bearded, vaguely well-dressed, middle-aged man who looked to be the village's chief held out his hands to silence the crowd.

When the noise abated, he bowed at the waist courteously. "High Priest Sanzo, thank you for visiting our humble village. We are honored with your holy presence."

"Um…" Hakkai began uncertainly, feeling very much like a bug under a microscope. "Can you tell us why you're receiving us like this?"

"Oh, of course! I should start at the beginning." He cleared his throat. "Once upon a time, this village was saved by a High Priest Sanzo. It was around four hundred years ago…"

"Sanzo, were you alive then?" Goku asked, puzzled.

"What do you think?" came the acid reply.

"The title Sanzo is handed down from generation to generation among the protectors of the sutras." Hakkai explained.

"We were unable to give thanks properly the last time," the village chief went on. "So we—our entire village—have been waiting for a chance to properly thank you."

"I see." Sanzo spoke with no trace of a smile on his features. In fact, he looked like he desperately wanted to be anywhere but here. "I understand the situation."

The village chief brightened. "Well then…"

He stood up abruptly, cutting the village chief short. "While I understand your feeli—"

Before he could finish his sentence, both Goku and Gojyo jumped up and clamped their hands over his mouth, effectively stopping him from declining what was obviously the village's offer to 'pamper' them, so to speak.

"Sanzo says he feels very honored," Gojyo grinned.

Goku joined in happily. "Sanzo says he's very hungry."

__

They're dead meat. Sanzo thought dangerously even as Hakkai laughed awkwardly to cover the stunned silence. Qing just rolled her eyes.

"I see." the village chief bowed and moved to prepare the food for them.

"Wait right there!" Goku and Gojyo yelled in unison.

"Is something wrong?"

The monkey was obviously enjoying this and was milking it for all it was worth. "Sanzo says he wants a lot of meat!"

"Sanzo says he wants to be served by some beautiful women." Gojyo chimed in eagerly.

Seeing her chance, Qing added. "Ooh, Monk Boy says he wants the food cooked to be by one of your best chefs, and none of the roadside stall crap."

Even Hakkai jumped on the bandwagon. "Oh, Sanzo seems to be saying he wants a little wine, too."

Having his mouth sealed shut by two very enthusiastic hands, Sanzo could do nothing but stare, but it did not stop the rapid flow of ideas on how to kill the four idiots horribly and painfully. _They're all very, very dead meat._ Now, if only they could just take their grubby hands off his mouth… 

The entire congregation stared, stunned at the amount and the nature of the requests. To cover up the silence, a sheepish Hakkai scratched his head and laughed a little. _Oh my…_

The village chief seemed to have gathered his wits around him, for he simply bowed and said, "…I see…we'll prepare everything right away…"

…

Unbeknownst to the Sanzo-ikkou, there was definitely trouble heading their way. Not trouble of a demonic kind. Rather…

"Are you sure I look all right?" A grossly overweight lady with too much makeup on adjusted the clothes. "This outfit is kind of skanky…"

An equally overweight man with a monocle perched on his pug-like nose bobbed his head at his wife approvingly. "That's the idea. Now, you know how this goes, don't you?"

She sniffed. "Of course!" There had been rumors about a young and beautiful woman joining the Sanzo-ikkou, and at least she had a chance to shine in the limelight instead of worrying about what those guys were doing and waiting for them to bring home the food. She was also pretty much sick of hiding while they cheated those gullible villagers of their hospitality and food. At least now she could walk freely.

"Now, let's go and show them who's boss!" A bald, visibly undernourished man announced, gritting his teeth as he stared at the building before them.

…

"Damn it…" Sanzo muttered darkly to himself. The crowd had long since gone; most of them to aid in the preparations of their requests, and they were all alone now. Which meant that they could speak freely without a few hundred eyes being glued to them.

"What're you so mad about, Sanzo?" Goku asked innocently, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on, Sanzo. If they're offering, just accept and be grateful." Gojyo had an inkling of what it was that made the monk so pissed, and from the look on Sanzo's face, it was obvious that he was right.

"Listen, Abbot and Costello, what I'm worried about is what happens afterwards." He snapped.

"Meaning?" Hakkai queried.

"These are the kind of people who are always begging for me to stay on or offer them teachings. Or something."

The youkai chuckled, thoroughly amused. "I can see where it hurts you, Sanzo. But I don't think they would want something like that—"

He was cut off by the sudden appearance of a band of people who stood in the doorway. A loud voice rang out, imperious and demanding. "Are you the people who are calling yourselves the Sanzo-ikkou?"

"Sanzo-ikkou?" Qing echoed. "Who came up with that lame name?"

The fat man who dressed like Hakkai—but looked nothing like him—carried on as if she hadn't spoken. "Now that the real thing has appeared, you're not getting away with it any longer, you hooligans!"

__

Real thing!

Sanzo simply stared at them, stunned for a moment. Then they all burst out laughing, with the exception of Qing.

The 'real things' bristled and glared at them. "How dare you laugh, you uncouth bastards?" The one who looked like Goku—well, supposedly—snapped.

The 'Gojyo' wannabe growled as he gestured to a shrimpy, wilted guy who looked like a weasel. "Do you know who this exalted person is! This is the legendary High Priest Sanzo!"

Sanzo and the bunch laughed all the more, more amused than ever.

Still guffawing, Gojyo addressed his wannabe, who glared daggers at him. "Are you trying to make us die laughing or something, man? Uncouth!"

"That one, that one…" Goku could barely get his words out; he was practically apoplectic with laughter. "…now that's a work of art!"

"You'll have to pardon us," Hakkai said through his chuckles. "We…you…" he dissolved into laughter again.

The Sanzo wannabe glared.

"Who do_ I _think that exalted person is?" Sanzo managed to ask as he laughed, unable to believe that someone so…pathetic could ever be considered the real thing. Especially when the real thing was right here laughing in his face.

Unfortunately, Qing was not seeing the humor in the situation. And the fact that her wannabe was both ugly and the size of a house did absolutely _nothing _to help matters. In fact, they made her all the more angry. How dare someone that dermalogically challenged try to pass off as her? To hell with the imitation is the sincerest form of flattery crap; this was the kind of flattery she could _so_ do without.

That woman's clothes looked like they were strapping all the excess fat in judging by all the unsightly bulges, and what was wrong with her? Did she just clean out the entire makeup line back from whichever pit she crawled from!

Making a noise like an extremely upset pit bull, Qing snarled, getting off her seat so violently that her chair was flung back. "I'll teach you to use MY name and disgrace _me_, you overweight cross between a blue whale and a Goodyear bli—" By now she was halfway across the long table, and would've long since leaped on her when an alarmed Hakkai and Goku grabbed her and pulled her back.

Literally.

"Jeez, Qing! It's—I mean, don't you think it's funny?" Goku asked, mystified by her volatile reaction. Holding her back was like trying to stop a blood-crazed shark from charging.

That was obviously the wrong thing to say, because she stopped renewing her bid to get free and get at the utterly aggravating…person less than twenty meters away from her for a moment.

"Excuse me! _Funny_!" She whipped around to glare at Goku, the epitome of several millennia worth of female wrath—something that every member of the male species had learned never to mess with under _any_ circumstances—bearing down on him. Unfortunately, Goku had yet to learn that lesson. "You think it's _FUNNY!"_

Subjected to the full force of that deadly glare, the invincible Seiten Taisei Son Goku; the one dude who had single-handedly turned the entire realm of Heaven upside down and had instilled the fear of God into everybody there simply—

—whimpered.

Which meant that he was learning.

And it was Hakkai to the rescue.

Well…sort of. "Miss Qing! Please, calm down! It's just—"

"Calm down? You want ME to _calm down_!" her voice was rising with each passing second as she struggled against them, intent on strangling the woman or something. "Look at her! God, calling her 'her' will be a compliment! Look at IT!"

"My, my," the other 'Qing' said disdainfully, fully in control of the current situation this time. "What a little savage. If you were even a tenth of the woman I am—"

"What are you talking about?" Qing sneered unpleasantly. It was obvious that there was no way she was going to wriggle out of their grasp, so she settled on doing something that she knew best. "Have you looked in the mirror lately? I _am_ a tenth of the woman you are. Let go of me!"

She sank back down on her seat, foiled from committing what was obviously going to be homicide. For the moment. She tried to shrug off Hakkai's restraining hand on her shoulder, but apparently he thought that she was going to just try to tackle and possibly annihilate her wannabe again, so he didn't give in. The man was just too freaking civilized sometimes.

"Huh?" Goku asked, confused.

Sanzo smirked. He would never say it, of course, but he found the wench very amusing whenever she was in a rage like that.

The fake Hakkai's eyes narrowed as the insult sank in, and he growled. "Just cut the crap, you imposters! Who are you to insult us?"

"Who are we, eh?" Gojyo growled, his almost non-existent patience for anyone not belonging to the fairer sex already wearing thin. "Just which one of us is outta line here, you cheap-ass ripoffs?" This time, he was the one who was about to leap across the table and attack them, but was stopped by Sanzo's hand on his shoulder.

"Stop it." Sanzo replied, having had quite enough of people leaping across tables to attack, attack, attack. "Just let it drop." His gaze slid to a currently steaming Qing. "Both of you."

Qing was about to snap back at him when the village chief bustled in, then glanced from one party to the other clearly confused. "W…what is this?" Why were there _two_ High Priest Sanzos here now? And why were they dressed almost alike? He looked to the real ones, then the fake ones…this was such a headache. "Which ones are the real ones here?"

…

"What just happened?" a confused Goku asked a little later as the gang found themselves behind bars and in a dark, damp prison cell that had obviously seen much better days.

"Apparently, we seem to be the imposters." Hakkai replied cheerfully, seemingly unperturbed.

Qing's blood boiled at that particular sentence. "Imposters!" She seethed. "I'll show them imposters! How can that—that—_cow_ be mistaken for me? I mean, look at me!"

"Now, now, Miss Qing…"

"Don't you 'now' me, Hakkai!" She exploded. His amiable tone grated on her nerves, especially now. "What happened to the whole adoring masses thing? I mean, how can I be an imposter? And look at this place! It's a prison! I've never even been in a police station in my entire life, and now I'm in a _jail!_"

"Would you just shut up?" Sanzo snapped.

"Bite me." Came the automatic retort.

"I didn't even get to eat anything yet, too." Goku sighed disappointedly to Qing.

She stared at him. "You've still got an appetite? That guy who pretended to be you has to be one of the biggest freakos I've ever seen. Homeless bum much? And what is with that big green stone thingy on his head?"

"I thought he was…uh…funny." The monkey stepped a little way away from her, remembering the last time he'd mentioned that word. He didn't exactly understand why she was so pissed, but he'd learned enough not to cross her or try to state the obvious when she looked like that.

She crossed her arms over her chest imperiously. "_You_ would."

"Well, at least now we won't get mixed up in that annoying priest shit." Sanzo shrugged.

"Sour grapes!" Goku blew up at him. "You're just saying that 'cause you're pissed that you got mistaken for an imposter!"

"What did you say?" Came the dangerous response.

"He's right," Qing joined in, glowering at him. "Face it, Monk Boy, you're just—"

"Now, now," Hakkai hurried to mediate before a large-scale quarrel broke out between the three of them. "Don't worry. At least our accommodation problems have been taken care of."

At his overly-optimistic statement, all four of them stared at their surroundings. Two filthy straw beds, a miserable toilet in a dark, mossy corner…

"Accommodations, huh?"

"God, I'm going to be sick."

…

Meanwhile, the imposters were enjoying all the attention even as the village folk gathered again to see the 'real thing'.

"Please, accept my humble apologies," the village chief bowed to them sheepishly, eager to make amends and embarrassed that he'd been tricked. "They had us completely fooled. I am very sorry; how could I have mistaken those uncouth people for you?"

The Sanzo-Imposter shifted in his seat and smiled slightly; it came out more like a pained grimace than anything else. The village chief continued angrily. "We will make them pay for that. We'll execute them!"

All the imposters twitched. They themselves were not the real thing either, and if the town wanted to execute them…

"No, no. It's all right. You don't have to go that far; this kind of thing happens very often."

The crowd was in awe at the display of his benevolence. "You're every bit as generous as the rumors say, High Priest Sanzo." the village chief spoke. "I wish the imposters could hear your words right now."

Imposter Hakkai's considerable stomach gave an angry growl, and Imposter Goku leaned towards him angrily. "Look, quit being so greedy, all right? We could get found out if you continue like this!"

Imposter Qing's stomach gave another growl in response, and she covered it up by laughing slightly. Gods she was hungry, too. At that, Imposter Goku shook his head and leaned towards Imposter Sanzo, murmuring softly. "Look, it's time to do your thing, okay?"

"Got it." He cleared his throat sanctimoniously. "By the way, Chief, my entourage has had a very trying journey this week…"

"Oh, but of course." The village chief perked up. "We've prepared our village's very own specialty just for you. Please wait a moment."

All the imposters' eyes grew wide at the mention of that word. "Specialty, you say?" Imposter Sanzo said gleefully. "Splendid! How very splendid!"

…

Unknowingly, Gojyo echoed that particular chuckle as he thought about the imposters. For some reason, he couldn't really get mad at them. Call that an ego thing. "Still, those guys've got some wits there. People like them really do exist, man." He was amused.

"Hey Sanzo, I'm hungry." Goku complained, rubbing his stomach. The jail, apparently, had lost it's novelty for him and he was now onto more important topics.

"Just go eat the walls or something."

"Hey, shut up over there!" their jailer—apparently having decided that they were talking a little too much—snapped, smacking the bars of their prison.

"Hey Pops," Goku was clutching said bars of prison as he gave their jailer his best whipped puppy-dog look. "But I'm hungry…"

"You're pretty shameless for a criminal," came the disdainful response.

"I don't care what it is, just bring me something to eat quickly, okay?"

"Don't be stupid!" their jailer exploded, glaring at the insolent kid. "There's nothing for people like YOU to eat!"

Goku didn't understand half of what he said—what he understood was that there was no food forthcoming, which meant that if he wanted any, he had to make an effort. "You're so mean. Fine, then I'll go get it myself."

"Don't try to make a fool outta me, you shitty little brat." The jailer growled. "Do you even know what you're—ARGH!" his sentence was unceremoniously cut off as a hunger-crazed Goku pulled apart the bars as if they were nothing more than plastic straws.

Jumping back, the jailer stared in shock as Goku walked through. "Food…" he moaned, doing his best impersonation of a zombie. "I need food…"

"AIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!" their jailer screamed as he turned on his heel and tried to beat a hasty exit. "MONSTERS! THEY'RE MONSTERS!"

"Ahh!" A freaked Qing shrieked, looking wildly around. "Where?"

Hakkai smiled. "I think he means us."

"Ew! There is no way I'm going to be lumped with you people! Hey, old guy, do you need glasses or something? Which part of me looks like a monster?"

At this moment in time, the jailer was concentrating hard on getting the hell out of here, which meant that Qing's entirely inane question had obviously fallen on deaf ears.

Then something tugged hard on the jailer's leg, sending him sprawling gracelessly onto the floor face first. Gojyo was behind him with his shakujou. "Hey, hey. That's not the way to do things, see?" he drawled.

"That's right," Hakkai said pleasantly as he stepped out gracefully through the bent bars. "You've got to watch over us properly, Mister Guard. Or else situations like these will happen."

He whimpered in fear as he got dragged closer and closer towards the monsters, who were now all out of their prison and staring at him bemusedly. "Let's see now…" Gojyo remarked as they all towered over him.

He was going to die. Eyes wide with mind-numbing terror, the jailer screamed again.

…

"Oi! We need a new ashtray." Gojyo called out as he held out the stuffed ashtray for the jailer to get.

"New ashtray coming right up!" the slightly roughed-up jailer announced as he sprinted into the cell, his arms full with plates of food. He'd been running up and down for ages now, and it didn't seem like he was likely to stop being Servant Boy anytime soon.

Hakkai took a sip of his sake and his eyes widened. _Mm, this is very good wine! _He thought delightedly, and happily proceeded to drain the whole cup.

Sanzo squeezed an empty can to get the jailer's attention. "More beer here!"

"Yes, sir!"

Goku, for one, was stuffing his face with anything he can get his hands on. Plates and plates of food were laid before him and emptied in record time, and to the jailer's credit, the food on the floor was always restocked with things like crab, prawns, lots and lots of different kinds of meat, and everything Goku loved as he and Gojyo gorged themselves on the food.

"I need a foot massage later," Qing called as he set down the multitude of beer cans in front of Sanzo. She was lounging on the large expensive cushion that he'd brought for her a million trips ago—she'd flat out refused to sit on the dirty floor or on the beds because of her white pants—and was currently daintily eating a little of every thing. She paused and looked him over, then said. "Once you thoroughly wash that grubby hands of yours and everything, that is."

"Yes, ma'am!"

…

While the Sanzo-ikkou enjoyed sumptuous meals and having someone serve them hand and foot—in Qing's case, quite literally—the imposter group stared down disbelievingly at the miniscule portions of food dished out to them. It was pathetic, to say the least; all their portions combined could not even feed a hungry rat.

"What is this?" Imposter Goku choked out, his eyes wide as dinner plates.

"As you can see, this is our ultimate vegetarian cuisine." The village chief replied cheerfully.

Imposter Hakkai stared at it with an expression akin to horror. _Ultimate? In what way is it 'ultimate'?_

Looks like an ordinary set meal to me. Imposter Gojyo thought angrily.

Imposter Qing simply glared at her husband, wondering, for the millionth time, what she had possibly seen in him all those years ago. If only she had waited a little while more; she could have found someone looking like one of those uncouth imposters—the blonde one would be perfect!—and would have had good food and a good life with a perfect husband instead of travelling around with these good-for-nothings and being subjected to these kinds of shitty food.

"Our village has prospered due to it's vegetarian research," the village chief explained. "And this particular dish is the result of all our efforts."

Imposter Sanzo tried to smile encouragingly, but all that came out was a pained half-grin. "W-well, isn't that just splendid!"

…

While Imposter Sanzo was struggling to accept the fact that that particular dish was all they were going to get, the real Sanzo was full-up and content as hell.

He was also currently snoring, a half-filled can of beer in hand as he sprawled unceremoniously on the straw bed—which was actually much more cushy than it looked.

Gojyo and Goku shared the other straw bed, both fast asleep and snoring like a pair of bulldozers. Qing was curled up comfortably on her large red cushion; Hakkai leaned against the side of her cushion and was snoring gently amidst the empty bottles of sake.

All in all, it was a happy and restful time for the gang.

…

The same could not be said for the imposters, however.

With a gigantic sigh, Imposter Sanzo collapsed on the bed, weary beyond belief from all the excitement. Something that, unfortunately, only the villagers felt, because all they themselves felt was hunger. Stingy bastards, the lot of them.

"Damn," he complained as he stretched. "That was _all _that we had to eat? I'm gonna give them an extra-long lecture just for that!"

"Man, quit complaining. Thanks to that exalted old dude, we got something to eat, at least." Imposter Gojyo, ever the optimist, replied as he sat down on his own bed. At least they've got good beds this time. He was sick and tired of having to sleep on cold hard ground all the time.

"True enough," Imposter Goku conceded.

"How about those people earlier?" Imposter Hakkai asked.

"Didn't look like the real Sanzo-ikkou at all!"

"Damn right they didn't." Imposter Sanzo laughed derisively. "They're the lowest of the low out of all the impersonators out there. They don't even have a single shred of dignity."

"He's right," Imposter Qing snorted meanly. "I mean, look at that little slut. Did you see what she was wearing? Which Sanzo-ikkou would bring someone like _that_ along? And did you see how she behaved? She's nothing more than a common prostitute!"

"She's right," Imposter Hakkai conceded; in agreement with his wife as usual.

Imposter Gojyo cleared his throat. "You never know. They might actually be the real thing for all you know."

"No way!" Imposter Goku exclaimed in disbelief.

The other man chortled upon seeing the looks on their faces. "I'm just kidding, of course!"

They all laughed at the sheer absurdity of that notion.

…

Down in the dungeons and blissfully unaware of what the imposter group was saying about them in general, Sanzo sneezed, then shifted in his sleep.

…

…

****

AN: Qing's pretty much becoming more and more amusing as the chapters go on…I'm sorry if there aren't any Sanzo-Qing action going on because I don't believe in the love at first sight thing for this couple, and because she's not exactly a Mary-Sue, especially if you count that ego-thing of hers in… Anyway, whaddya think of this chapter?

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Sanzo-sama's Lover: Heehee, I hope you liked this chapter too…Hmm, I might do a Yaone/Hakkai/Kougaiji story, though, 'cause they've got lots of potential! I don't know about a Hakkai/OC, though, because I'm kind of subtly putting in a love triangle here…I don't know if anyone can see it now, though, because Qing is still new to the group and she's still mostly unpleasant. This story tests the boundaries between friendship, love, and the gray area in between, lol. The sex talk thing was funny as hell; it had me giggling the whole time I wrote it. Can you imagine the look on Sanzo's face? I don't know if he ever has sex, though, but the guy broke just about every rule in the book, so I added it in.

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SukilovesAnimeLOL, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Pretty Stupid Girl: Yep! I've yet to see flamers write good stories! Oh, that will be a barrel of laughs. Qing sounds like one of your friends? Cool! Heehee, at least she resembles someone…

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Blood-debt: Hey there, thanks for your compliments! I shall endeavor to not let Qing fall into the world of Mary Sues!


	7. Imposters Part Two

****

AN: I'm sorry this took such a long time to come out! LOL I hope you like this chapter, too. The next one is already written and on the way. Probably will come up in a couple of days' time.

…

"But man, this village is pathetic." Imposter Gojyo commented as soon as they calmed down and were onto more pressing matters. Like themselves, for example, and how long they should stay here.

"I think we'd better split soon before things fall apart and we're found out," Imposter Hakkai spoke. They'd been discovered a couple of times before, and the results had not been pleasant, to say the least. And besides, he didn't think he could stand another day of measly vegetarian hamster food.

"I know." Imposter Sanzo replied, almost half-asleep.

"Oh no you won't," a new voice called from the darkened area in the corner of the room.

They all immediately stiffened at that, all thoughts of sleeping gone for the moment. "Who's there!"

A pale-skinned, vaguely handsome demon emerged from the shadows. Upon seeing him, Imposter Qing screamed and fainted, dropping heavily to the floor. "I've got something I want you guys to do."

"W-who the hell are you?" Imposter Goku demanded, feeling a chill of apprehension slide down his spine.

"You're a youkai?" Imposter Hakkai asked, trembling slightly.

The demon laughed derisively. "What do you think? Stupid humans."

His eyes flashed red, and all of them collapsed, caught under the spell. Lightly, the demon landed on the table and chuckled darkly to himself. Now, it was time to deal with the other Sanzo-ikkou. And he had just the thing to do the job.

…

Hakkai's eyes widened as he inhaled sharply. _That's…!_

Sanzo was already wide-awake as he sat up on the straw bed. "Looks like another ambush has arrived." He commented boredly.

Qing's quiver of arrows were already strapped to her back—it was very rapidly becoming a habit for her—and she was toying with her bow, not quite knowing what to expect. "Well, at least I had a full eight hours this time."

Waiting for a demon thingy to attack was not the best way to wake up, but hey. If there was one thing she learned in the past couple of months, it was that a full eight hours of sleep in a night were few and far between.

She'd already scrambled to her feet at the first sign of danger. What with having nowhere to run, she primed herself for an attack. This was definitely one of the times when she was glad that the guys were around her; they kick more ass than she ever could—though she would rather be afflicted with a severe case of leprosy than ever, _ever_ admit it.

A woman had her pride, you know.

"Hey, wake up, Goku." A terse Gojyo slapped lightly at the sleeping monkey's face. He was pretty much still dead to the world. It took a little more prodding to rouse him.

"Eh?" he opened one eye and grinned drowsily. "Breakfast time already?"

"Here it comes." Sanzo said quietly, his steady gaze never wavering from the place where the doorway to the dungeons should be. Qing took a few steps back, her arrow already in her bow and ready to shoot.

"What? They took our order already?" A sleepy Goku asked happily.

Gojyo stood up and stepped towards the gap in the bars. Not too long after, the jailer was thrown into the room with an entirely too spineless scream. He stared ahead, then turned to them, eyes wide in terror as he ran in the opposite direction. "Help! Help me!"

"Wimp." Qing rolled her eyes. For a guy he sure lacked a distinct manliness. How could that guy be a guard when he screamed like a girl whenever he was afraid?

There was a chorus of half-dead moaning that chilled to their bone, and the sounds of shuffling. A few seconds later, a strangely pale, blue-skinned Imposter Hakkai shuffled into the room, followed by the rest of the imposter group, similarly coloured.

"Hey," Gojyo stared. "What kind of a joke is this?"

In response to his question, all five of them turned to face them, their eyes pupil-less.

Qing recoiled in horror and disgust. "Eww!"

"Chill, baby. I'm here." The cocky kappa winked at her. His initial lust for her had already faded to one of friendship; though he flirted outrageously with her sometimes just for the heck of it, her caustic wit and inherent conceitedness was altogether too much to take sometimes. Personally, he liked his women to be lacking in those particular attributes.

"Down, boy." She rolled her eyes. "Leash your hormones for awhile, will you?"

They growled and started towards them.

Sanzo summed up the situation perfectly, not bothering to move from his makeshift bed although his eyes betrayed his tension. "It looks like they're after us."

Hakkai sighed pleasantly, still pretty much undisturbed even after seeing them. "How unfortunate."

Goku exhaled noisily and closed his eyes to go back to sleep. An incensed Gojyo smacked him. "Don't sleep, damn it!"

…

The walls of the dungeon was blown apart effortlessly by Hakkai as the gang leapt out, followed closely by the zombified imposters, who suddenly seemed to be loaded to the gills with weapons. Sanzo was glad that they took the fight to the open field; there was a lot more space to maneuver. And besides, he had an idea as to who was behind this and where the bugger would be. For all intents and purposes, he was a very intelligent man, his only problem was that he _knew_ it.

"Their movements aren't normal, are they?" he commented as he watched them. Goku, by now, was already wide awake and watching them with an expression of interest.

"It appears that they're controlled by someone." Hakkai responded, frowning at the group. It was obvious that they weren't dead yet, only mere puppets for someone—or something—more insidious.

"Controlled by someone, huh?" Gojyo remarked. "Well, we can't let a greeting like that go to waste, can we?" He'd been itching for a fight for a while now, to see if they were any good or if they were as pathetic as they looked.

"Just when I thought she couldn't get any uglier, she surprises me." Qing observed her imposter with no small amount of contempt, her disgust for all things/people less than absolutely stunning apparent in her body language.

"Now what?" Goku asked innocently.

"Even if they're being controlled, our opponents are human. We should be careful to restrain ourselves and…" a sudden thought occurred to him. "Oh."

Sanzo flicked a glance at Goku, getting the point immediately. The monkey was notorious for seriously kicking ass in battle and not really knowing his strength. And if he got pissed and decided to bash some heads in, those heads stayed bashed. And the last time they checked, people with broken heads didn't really make for prime living human specimens, because they became kind of dead.

"What?" Said monkey asked blankly, obviously having forgotten the murderous rampage he had been on when Sanzo had been pierced through the belly by that crazed Rikudou, beating said psychopath in the homicidal maniac category.

"Goku, sit this one out," Gojyo decided to fill him in.

"How come?"

"You can't restrain yourself, can you?"

It was an obvious reference to something Qing knew nothing about. And—upon further reflection—she decided that didn't want to know. He bristled, narrowing his eyes at the amused redhead. "Jerk."

Hakkai turned expectantly to Qing, who was still aiming her arrow at Imposter Qing and looking like she was about to let her arrow fly any instant. "Miss Qing?"

"What?"

"Did you hear what I just said?" he enquired. If she could not be reasoned with, drastic measures would have to be taken.

She made a face and reluctantly slipped her arrow back into her quiver. "Drat."

Imposter Hakkai, though green in the face and zombified, could apparently still talk. "You don't have time to just idly stand around and chat!"

Imposter Goku was primed and ready for battle, as were the rest of the imposters. And the Sanzo gang, for one. "We're taking your lives!" Following that sentence, he pounced.

"Nyoyi staff!" As Goku's weapon materialized in his hand, he leapt eagerly into battle. And all around them, individual battles were erupting.

The townspeople had already gathered at the periphery of the field and were watching the scene, utterly dumbfounded.

The village chief, for one, simply stared. "That's—"

With a war cry, Imposter Sanzo charged at the real one, a spear in hand and ready to stab through flesh. Sadly, the man was as pathetic as he looked, because Sanzo dodged every thrust and jab with annoying ease.

"That Lord Sanzo is fighting the other Lord Sanzo…!" One of the villagers stared, amazed.

"What on earth is going on here!"

Imposter Gojyo emitted a similar battle cry and did ran at Gojyo with his shakujou.

"Hey, he ain't half bad!" Gojyo noted, impressed.

As Imposter Hakkai charged towards the real one with two broadswords, Hakkai took note of the situation. "It looks like they've been fortified with demon magic. It's probably quite a strain on their bodies."

Qing, being captain of the cheerleading team for two years running—and quite happy to tell anyone and everyone about it—had put her reflexes to good use as she jumped away from the giant ball of fat careening towards her. Imposter Qing's battle cry sounded like a banshee in pain, and Qing cringed. "Strain? On fake Sanzo guy, Goku guy and Gojyo guy, maybe. My imposter looks like she can power a small island for a whole year. Yours, too."

"I don't think size will matter, Miss Qing. Whatever it is, they will not be able to stand it for long periods of time. What are we going to do about it?"

Gojyo stopped his imposter's downward stab with his own shakujou easily. "Ain't it obvious?"

Goku landed easily on the ground, revved up from the fight. "Simple! We just hit 'em hard enough to knock them out and not kill 'em." He leapt up again and slammed his Nyoyi staff hard into Imposter Goku's stomach, sending him keeling over, unconscious.

Qing nodded, wide-eyed. "That works."

"Of course!" Gojyo jumped up and landed behind his imposter. Before Imposter Gojyo could turn around, an expeditious blow to the head rendered him senseless.

Hakkai flipped his imposter over in an impressive display of martial arts precision and said happily. "Everything's okay on my end, too!"

Imposter Qing erupted with another banshee-in-grievous-pain cry and charged yet again, having no weapons and therefore obviously trying to use her bulk to crush the other woman to death, or something.

For someone who was pretty much relatively new to fighting, Qing simply reared back this time and landed a square punch right in the centre of her imposter's pudgy face. The woman fell like a ton of bricks, and Qing swore that she felt the earth shake upon impact.

"I've been wanting to do that for awhile now," she snapped, very much liking her current status as kickass chick—then gave a pained yelp as she shook out her hand. "Owww. Ow!"

Imposter Sanzo was the last to go. He tried once again to run Sanzo through with the spear, but this time, Sanzo was more than ready. In a swift move, he'd disarmed the man and gave him a rockin' roundhouse punch that sent him flying.

"Right." Sanzo looked back at his teammates. "All that's left would be—"

Goku cheered. "Five for five!"

"Nice workout, eh?" Gojyo smirked.

"What's her face made of, metal?" Qing demanded hotly as she examined her hand.

Hakkai peered back at the unconscious woman. "You did give her a good one there." Then he smiled. "Let's let Sanzo handle the rest, then."

…

The demon, who was currently squatting on the roof of the village jail, stared down at the victorious group, arms crossed over his chest. Well, that had been a less entertaining show than he thought it would be, but hey. At least one group was down for the count. "They sure didn't last very long," he sighed to himself. "Ah well. It's not like I care about either side."

"Because they're both your enemies, right?" Came a new voice.

It should be said that this particular demon was either used to having long rambling conversations with himself or was pretty much slow on the uptake, because he simply shrugged. "Yeah, plus it's much easier if they kill each other," he said agreeably, then stiffened and turned when he realized that it was not his brain talking to him. "W-who's there!"

Standing behind him, swathed in moonlight, stood Sanzo, a hand on his hip.

"S-S-Sanzo! How the hell did you find me here?"

Sanzo rolled his eyes. Some demons were just too dimwitted to allow to live. "Are you stupid or something? You had to emit your psyche to control those humans. How could I not notice that demon stench?"

The demon smirked, apparently having regained his wits. "Nothing less from the esteemed Sanzo. But can you dodge this!" Sanzo leapt out of the way just as a fireball whizzed past him.

From their vantage point on the ground, Goku grinned. "Hey, it's pretty flashy there, Sanzo!"

"You go, dude." Gojyo called cheerily as fireball after fireball erupted from the demon.

"You're an idiot after all." Sanzo muttered to himself, ignoring his teammate's comment and raising an eyebrow at the demon. Which normal person would just blindly keep blasting fireballs without even strategizing? Oh well, this was going to be a relatively simple task.

"Now you've really pissed me off!" the offended demon growled as another large fireball arced at him. "Sanzo, your life is mine!"

Sanzo ducked, already bored.

Undeterred, the demon kept firing, getting angrier and angrier by the minute. At least one of them had to hit!

"Why, you…Hit him, damn it!" And again with the not very intelligent behavior. Talking to one's own fireballs was definitely not a sign of smarts.

Beyond them, the night had already faded away, and the sun was beginning to rise. Clasping his hands together in the secure knowledge that the moron could not hit him even if his entire family tried, Sanzo started to chant.

As the sun began it's upward trek, the blond priest's prayer grew more intense, until finally—

"MAKAYI TENJYO!" 

His sutra exploded from him in a mass of tentacles, trapping the demon.

Below them, the villagers gasped in shock and amazement. "That's—!"

The village wise man, who had told countless stories of the Sanzo who had protected their village, gasped. "That's exactly what happened in the stories!"

"Then that's—"

"Yes, that's the real High Priest Sanzo!"

Said High Priest cocked his S&W and blasted the demon to kingdom come. The battle was over.

"Hmph."

…

Below him, the imposters were already struggling to get to their feet, which was no mean feat considering the beating they'd taken.

Groaning, Imposter Hakkai clutched his head. "Man, I hurt all over…"

"My head hurts…" Imposter Sanzo whined. He was about to keep on complaining when he realized the sudden silence of his gang. He turned to see what was it that had stunned them, and yelped.

"So you guys are finally awake, you fake pieces of crap." Gojyo drawled, standing over them with his arms crossed.

"But man, you guys don't even look like us!" Goku said indignantly.

"That was the point I've been trying to put through all along!" Qing told him peevishly. "But did anyone listen? _Nooo." _She glared down at the bruised and beaten 'Qing'. "And YOU. Mixing purple and green just makes you look like a demented dinosaur, okay? God, who does your Dumpster-like fashions? Barney?"

Imposter 'Qing' growled.

Hakkai was still very much amused with the entire thing. "Imitating us is dangerous, so I recommend that you do not do so anymore."

They cowered. Somehow, this man scared them all more than the others combined.

"Oi."

Or not.

Imposter Sanzo looked like he was on the verge of wetting his pants at the sight of Sanzo. "Y-y-yes sir?"

"Get out of my sight."

With terrified whimpers and half-shrieks, the five imposters hauled ass and strived to disappear from there as fast as humanly possible.

…

"Damn it!" Imposter Sanzo—having already regained his wits—swore as they trudged towards the setting sun. Now that he was safely away from those monsters, he was free to express his anger. "We got driven away like common trash!"

"It's all because of those bastards!" Imposter Goku agreed angrily.

"And that bitch!" Imposter Qing snapped, her face already purple with fury. "How dare the girl talk to me like that? Oh, I am going to get her…"

It was then that they noticed four people heading their way.

"Who the hell are you people?" Imposter Gojyo asked rudely. He was not in the mood to be polite after what just happened.

The two groups stopped. Kougaiji looked them over, a look of vague amusement on his face. Was it him, or did they resemble the blasted Sanzo-ikkou?

"I should be the one asking that question."

"Quit screwing around, man!" Imposter Goku crowed, puffing his chest out importantly. "Do you know who he is? He's the great Genjo Sanzo! And I'm the powerful Goku!"

"I'm Hakkai! You're going to regret messing with me!"

"My name is Qing, and you'd better make way for us before we pound you into the dirt! Now move it!"

Kougaiji looked even more amused as he looked the last speaker over. She looked like the typical overfed housewife and obviously had tried to dress like a hooker. Briefly, he wondered what that girl's reaction would be if she saw this woman now. The results would be nothing less than absolutely hilarious.

"Well?" 'Qing' crossed her arms in front of her entirely too generous bosom.

…

"Let's go," Kougaiji tossed to his henchmen ten minutes later, feeling very much gratified. "They're wasting our time."

As the Kougaiji team went merrily on their way, the downed imposter Sanzo group were groaning on the floor, beaten up and bruised beyond recognition.

All's well that ends well, indeed.

…

****

Pretty Stupid Girl: Heh, I'm not quite sure who busted them out of there because they didn't show it in the anime, but I'm pretty sure Hakkai was the one who did the honors… LOL the imposters are pretty weird, aren't they?

****

Risikah Tziporah: Thanks! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too! Though it's a little short…

****

SukiLovesAnimeLOL I hope you like this chapter!

****

Sanzo-sama's lover: Ooh, you liked that line, huh? LOL I thought that was pretty funny, too. Thank God you don't think Qing is a Mary-Sue. She's got a mean streak like the river Nile or something. I guess this story is where she grows up and learns how to be nicer, although it's going to be a very slow process, since I'm trying to make sure she doesn't hog the limelight. Hmm, Kougaiji and Yaone, huh? I think I could do that. I always thought they made a pretty cute couple, since Kougaiji is predisposed to being more of a good guy than Sanzo will be. Weird, but that's what I think.

Koumyou Sanzo and Qing's ancestor, huh? I guess you're going to have to find out in the later chapters, then… LOL, it's a secret! But I suppose you could glean quite a lot from those couple of sentences, though…


	8. Chin Iisou

…

__

I see the world has folded in your heart

I feel the waves crash down inside;

It'll pull me under…

Somebody save me, let your warm hands break right through

I'll make this whole world shine for you

Just save, save, come on…

I'm still waiting for you…" –Remy Zero, Save Me.

…

"Gono, I really love your hands," Kanan smiled happily as she rubbed her cheek against his palm, savoring the softness. "Your fingers are so long and beautiful…" she laughed softly. "Or is does 'beautiful' sound strange for a man?"

"I'll do anything for you, my love." He gazed upon her tenderly; Gods he loved her so much, so very much…

She stood before him now, barely two meters away, yet forever separated by the cast iron bars of her prison. His dagger was in her hand; she'd taken it when he'd hugged her, and now it glinted mercilessly in the dim light. She'd pressed the dagger against the soft flesh of her neck, tears rolling down her fair cheeks.

No, no… "Let's go home, Kanan," he begged hopelessly, willing, with all his heart and soul, that she did not go through with it. Not when he'd done so much to see her again… "I'll protect you!"

Please, no…

Please…

"No, Gono, I can't come home with you. It's too late..." Those words, those last words cut into him with a shattering finality. And with one slice—

With a gasp, Hakkai's eyes flew open. He was not in Hyakuganmaou's prison; he was lying in the Jeep, staring up at the clear night sky, where the crescent moon hung overhead, bathing the entire area with a silvery blue light.

He raised his hands toward the moon and stared at them, shaken.

It all had been just a dream.

One of the many dreams of Kanan that had plagued him time and time again. His hands were spotless now, but there was a time long ago where they'd been so stained with blood that he was sure that they would never be clean again.

"I pretend to have forgotten all about it, but it keeps coming back to haunt me…" he murmured to himself with a bitter laugh. Leaning back, he rubbed a hand over his tired eyes in an attempt to shake off the remnants of that dream. There were some things, he supposed, that would never be forgotten or pushed back no matter how much one tried.

With a soft sigh, he got off the Jeep quietly so as not to awaken his sleeping friends, and headed off into the forest alone. He needed to think.

As he trudged towards the forest, Gojyo's eyes opened. He had obviously not been asleep for the past few minutes, and had heard Hakkai's every whispered word.

__

So that's what's wrong with him.

…

…Yes, and you bear the scars on your belly, do you not?

He remembered those words with a sickening clarity, as if they'd been whispered to him in the wind. He stared down at the mahjong tile emblazoned with the word _Sin. _Even now, the word seemed to be mocking him. Was it him, or was the word specially bold today? He didn't know.

__

The wound I can never speak of has started aching ever since we met that man, Hakkai thought, clenching his hand and slipping the tile back into his pocket. _He's probably someone who bears a grudge from that incident…but why is he taking such a roundabout approach?_

Kanan's face floated in his mind's eye once more, her brilliant eyes kind and loving; just like he'd always remembered them to be.

__

"Gono, I love your hands…"

I couldn't even protect my one true love, his thoughts were bitter even as he stared down at his hands, remembering what he'd done in his grief, and how much he had regretted it now. _I can never hold anyone again…with these hands that were stained in sin—_

"Man," a very familiar voice close to his ear said. "That's one short lifeline you've got there."

Hakkai jumped away from the speaker, startled out of his skin. "Ahh! You surprised me!"

"That's my line! Damn, I can't believe I snuck up on you so easily." Gojyo shrugged, looking exceedingly pleased with himself.

Hakkai stared at him for a moment to still his pounding heart, then held out his hand. "So which one is the lifeline?"

"Hmm, the line around here," the kappa pointed.

He held his palm up for closer inspection. "You're right, it's pretty short."

"Mine goes all the way to the wrist," Gojyo announced proudly. "See? I'm gonna live to a ripe old age, man. I've got the durability of a cockroach."

Hakkai chuckled at that, then sighed. "Did I wake you?"

"Well…it's more like I wanted to see what you looked like when you're depressed and all."

He was silent this time. For once, there was no smile on his face, and there were no typical cheery Hakkai comments to offset the current atmosphere. It was then that Gojyo knew it was serious. Very serious.

He continued, nonetheless, being careful not to look at his longtime friend. He had, after all, his coolness quotient to keep to. "This is about that fortune teller dude, isn't it?"

__

He's more observant than he looks, Hakkai thought, quietly impressed. Sha Gojyo normally acted like he couldn't care less about anything except gambling, smoking, and women, but he knew that that was just a cover. The real Gojyo cared very much for his friends; he just never really showed it. Much like Sanzo, in a way. "Yes. Chin Iisou."

As if on cue, something behind them chirped in a high, tinny voice. "Hello!"

Startled and immediately on guard, the two of them spun around to see a tiny Chinese-style doll ambling like clockwork towards them. It held something in it's little hands. The doll's painted eyes stared up at the two men. "Hello! Hello! Hello, Cho Gono the murderer!"

The two men stared, shocked. "How the hell does he know your old name?" Gojyo asked. It was the first time he'd ever seen a doll like this before, and it was simply too unnerving.

Hakkai stared at the mahjong tile in it's hands, his eyes fixated on the word that glared up almost angrily at him. _Grudge…_

"A Mahjong tile…" He murmured dazedly, then he tensed, immediately recognizing it. "Chin Iisou."

The doll began to talk, making clacking sounds whenever it closed its mouth and sounding entirely too gleeful. "You seem to have forgotten, so I'll remind you. There is nowhere where you can be at peace. After all, you are a sinner."

"You finished spouting shit now?" Gojyo demanded peevishly, glaring down at the thing. "Just who the fuck do—"

"I understand what you're trying to say," Hakkai said calmly, cutting an incensed Gojyo off. "But if you have some business with me…" There was a look on his face that Gojyo had never seen before. "Why don't you come and talk to me face to face?"

"Yes, yes!" The doll said happily. "Those eyes, Cho Gono. That's your real face!"

The kappa had had enough of this. He had never seen Hakkai look like that before, and it disturbed him very much. Obviously the damn doll was hitting through to him; which was the last thing Hakkai needed right now. "You little…" In an amazing display of footwork which would most likely secure him a place as striker in a soccer team, he kicked the thing into the nearest tree. It slammed into said tree, and the doll's neck broke and lopped forward like a miniature corpse. "Shut the fuck up, you asshole!"

"Let's get outta here, Hakkai!" he barked, oblivious to the way the doll's head turned, taking careful aim. "Wake the others and lets get out of this place."

"R…right."

A blue light appeared in the doll's open mouth, and a soft hum alerted Hakkai to what it was doing, for he turned immediately to his friend and shouted. "Gojyo, look out!"

He had no other warning even as he turned to see what was wrong. The light pierced through him, sending him stumbling.

"Gojyo!" Hakkai exclaimed in horror, rushing to help his friend.

"Hahahahahahaha!" the doll laughed happily. "Payback time!"

"You fucking doll…" Gojyo finally fell. The pain in his chest was excruciating. It was as if something was ripping him apart bit by bit.

Hakkai could only stare as his friend fell, and for a moment, he didn't know what to do. Until—

"Hakkai!" Sanzo's voice rang out through the clearing, and the youkai saw the three of them minus Jeep running towards him. "What's going on?"

"Gojyo is—"

Clutching his chest, the kappa cried out in agony even as purplish veins wrapped around his heart and spread throughout his entire body, painfully seeping through his veins and sealing them up.

"Fuck…" he managed to bite out through his suffering. "There's something inside me, and it's moving…through my blood vessels…" it was taking too much effort to even continue speaking, and he cried out again.

"W-what the hell is going on?" A panicked Goku asked as he stared in horror at his friend. He hadn't expected something like this to happen when Sanzo and Qing woke him up. A demon he could fight, but this—?

"What the hell is this?" Sanzo had a similar expression on his face.

"Don't just stand there!" Qing was also close to panicking; she had not seen anything like this before, and the fact that Gojyo was writhing around in agony while they just stood there and stared did not sit well with her. What she also hated was also the fact that she didn't know what to do. "Do something!"

"It's no use!" the doll spoke again, alerting the three of them to it's presence. "I planted a seed which is spreading it's roots throughout his blood vessels, drinking all his blood."

"What the heck is that?" Goku shrank back, a note of apprehension in his voice. This was definitely not the best way to wake up.

"A familiar belonging to Chin Iisou." Hakkai said flatly.

"Who?" Qing asked blankly, unable to take her eyes away from the doll. Her brain was definitely processing pretty much slowly at the moment.

"The fortune teller."

"Oh." She remembered the freaky guy with the blue hair who tried to stab her in the foot. Then, "Ew."

"The bastard did this?" Sanzo growled.

"If you don't do something quickly, he'll become just one more tree in the forest." The doll went on, the smile apparent in it's voice. "The seed's planted right next to his heart. What will you do, Cho Gono?" it sang.

"Asshole." Sanzo drawled, glowering at the doll. "What the fuck do you want?"

The doll laughed again seemingly enjoying their reactions to the scene before them. "Hahahahaha! This is fun! This is so much fun, Cho Gono! You better come here quickly, too—"

And suddenly the evil little critter's head was blown to pieces.

"So that's what this is about," Sanzo said darkly, feeling a strange sense of satisfaction in silencing the little shit up. It passed quickly, though, because there was a more pressing matter at hand. "Such wonderful taste that perverted bastard has got." His mind was working overtime as the realization of what that bastard was currently doing was sunk in. Also, he hated dolls. Especially the ones who talked and tried to kill people while they were at it.

Qing made a face. "For the record, _ewwww._" 

"Sanzo…" Hakkai murmured.

The blond priest's gun was still leveled at the destroyed doll as he spoke, every inch the leader. "Goku, Qing, secure Gojyo's arms."

"Hold him down?" Qing balked as Goku made a sound of astonishment.

Sanzo reloaded his gun and stared at them.

"Uh…okay." Goku hurried to do as he asked.

The young woman looked down at him dubiously. Despite her best intentions, actually having physical contact with him was another matter altogether, especially since he looked pretty weird, like all the veins in his body were fighting to burst out and take a walk. Or something equally ew-worthy. "Is he contagious?"

"Shut up and hold him. Satisfied, Chin Iisou?" Sanzo spat darkly, staring at the darkness that lay beyond the destroyed doll. "I bet this is what you wanted, isn't it?" He spun and took aim at Gojyo's heart, the latter of which jerked and made a sound of surprise.

"Sanzo, what are you doing?" the worried monkey demanded as he saw the gun. Was he going to _shoot_ Gojyo for real? Qing, on the other hand, struggled to pin down his arm; the guy was struggling too much.

"Hakkai," Sanzo barked, ignoring Goku's question. "As soon as I fire, close the wound."

"Wait a minute! The seed's right beside his heart! The target's too small, you might hit his heart instead!"

"I won't miss! If he dies, it's because his heart is too weak."

"Goddamit," Gojyo swore through his pain. "I ain't gonna croak, all right?"

"If you don't shut that big mouth of yours, you're going to bite your tongue." Sanzo moved to press the trigger, but a flustered Qing cut in.

"Wait! Here." To their surprise, she ripped out her sleeve from her toga-style top and unceremoniously shoved the piece of fabric in his mouth. Her fingers barely left his mouth when a single gunshot rang out.

Gojyo jerked, and blood filled the pink fabric that he'd bitten down on.

…

"His wound is closed, he'll be okay, but he'll be out for awhile." Hakkai said quietly as the green glow from his hand faded away. Gojyo was unconscious, and Goku had pried the cloth out of his mouth so that he could breathe properly. Qing—her extremely inconvenient Prom Queen instincts kicking in—had staunchly refused to go anywhere near his mouth. Or touch him, for that matter.

"Man, now my heart's bad!" Goku sagged in relief.

"Yeah." Qing agreed, looking sick. "I thought I was going to faint while barfing." She examined the tatters of her sleeve critically and shook her head. "Thank God I was going to throw this shirt out. Or else it would've really sucked."

None of them bothered to register that statement.

"It's all my fault, isn't it?" Hakkai spoke, his eyes downcast. Now that the danger was over, his guilt and fear started to sink in.

"Chin Iisou is clearly after me."

Sanzo simply said. "Stop it."

"But—" A barely rational Hakkai stood up abruptly, his fists clenched. There was panic and fear in his eyes now; it was something that none of them had ever seen before, not even Sanzo. It seemed like Hakkai's mental and emotional states were a lot worse than he thought.

"Shut up!"

"But Sanzo—!"

The angry priest grabbed him by the front of his shirt roughly, shaking him. "Calm down! If you lose your cool now, you'll play right into the bastard's hands!"

Hakkai's eyes widened, then he crumpled as the full force of his exhaustion hit him. He had not been sleeping well for a long while now, and after that whole healing session…

Sanzo caught him before he could hit the ground. "Oi!"

"Hakkai!" Qing was by his side in an instant. She had never seen him like this before, and it frightened her. What was going on here? Where did Alien Guy factor into all this?

"Goku, Qing, get the supplies from Jeep! I'll take care of them."

"Right!" Goku nodded as he started running, followed by the anxious young woman, who did not even stop for a minute to wonder why she obeyed his instructions so readily.

Looking down at Hakkai, Sanzo shook his head. _Looks like he hasn't been sleeping at all these days. No surprise there. _He narrowed his eyes as he surveyed the two unconscious men, trying to plan his next move. The situation was not good. Not good at all. _Everything's going according to that bastard's plan. Planting that seed next to Gojyo's heart was clearly a ploy to make me shoot him right before Hakkai's eyes. We fell for it hook, line, and sinker._

That particular statement rankled on his nerves even more than the others. If there was anything Genjo Sanzo hated, it was being played for a fool. But this time, it seemed like his hands were tied; what could he shoot? To make matters more annoying, seemed like Hakkai had his own personal demons to fight, too. Fuck, the whole thing was a mess, and he, unfortunately, was stuck with the cleaning up.

Again.

…


	9. Vengeance

Hello all!

Many apologies, I just realized that I forgot to write anything whatsoever at the end of the previous chapter, so I shall do it here. I am so sorry! Well, here's the next chapter…I hope you like this, too.

…

"Are you sure this is the right way to the Jeep?" Qing asked as she followed Goku. The dark forest was seriously starting to creep her out, especially since there was a homicidal psychopath somewhere out there—besides Sanzo. God knew how many 'Chucky' doll thingies were out there watching her right now.

She shuddered, and wished that she had a flame thrower or a low-yield nuclear device or something.

"Yeah." Goku frowned as he looked around. The trees looked all the same, and he wasn't too sure. "Hmmm…we've been through here, right?"

She squinted. "I don't know…they kind of look the same." She groaned. "We're lost, aren't we? This is just swell. I get lost in the middle of nowhere with a kid and who knows how many crazed Chucky thingies are out there?"

Goku frowned, mildly affronted. "I'm not a kid! What's a…Chucky? Is it edible?" At that word, his stomach growled and he groaned. "Great…now I'm hungry. Did you have to talk about food?"

She stared at him, aghast. "Excuse me, Mister Frog In A Well? Chucky's not edible. Didn't you watch the movie? The little freaky doll guy just goes around killing people and everything."

He looked confused. What did it have to do with a frog? "Huh?"

Before she could respond, he perked up as he caught sight of the Jeep in the distance. "Oh, look. Jeep's there! See, I told you we weren't lost!"

She snorted derisively. "You're going to have to be really retarded or something if we got lost in that short distance. What are we gonna get?"

Goku shrugged. "I'll get the water, you get the rest of the supplies. We're gonna have to bring everything back to them, anyway, and I don't know if Gojyo needs anything for his wound." Qing glanced over at him and realized that despite his tone, what happened earlier had shaken him to the core. She supposed that although Monk Boy shot at them on a regular basis, he'd never seen him actually _shoot_ Gojyo before. She would be lying if she said that what had happened hadn't affected her in the least.

Rong Zi Qing was afraid, and she was furious that a mere person with a knack of dollmaking and just so happened to be a few fries short of a Happy Meal could make her feel this way.

Before she came here, she was fearless. She was everything a girl ever wanted, rich, beautiful, and popular. Her word had been law; every single thing she wore set the trend. She was admired and envied by the girls, and practically worshipped by the boys. Now, it seemed like a million years away from her. To survive, she knew that she had to fight. It wasn't that different from where she came from, really. Only in here, you fought with your strength, not your wits. And in here, Qing had been closely acquainted with the words 'fear' and 'terror' much more than she would ever care to be.

Back in her world, Qing had been on the top of the heap, the crème de la crème. Staying on the top had not been easy, but she was not going to relinquish the crown anytime soon.

Here, she decided, it would be the same thing, too. She had to get stronger, and it was only then that she would be able to go home. Stronger meant not bothering with other people's businesses.

__

Why should I even care, really? She thought. _I'm just sticking with them until I can get home, so what happens is not my problem unless it's hurting me or impeding my progress. So far, it kinda looks like what's-his-name is ignoring me and going for the big cheese. Well, that's pretty much excluding me, which is a good thing. So why should I bother?_

That particular train of thought, for some reason that was impossible for her to fathom, was gradually losing it's credibility for her. Annoyed with herself, she rolled her eyes and patted him on the shoulder. _Oh, what the hell. These guys must be growing on me much more than I thought they would. Worse than Chia Pets._

"Gojyo didn't die, did he?" She pointed out. "The guy's like a cockroach or something; just look at his feelers! Now come on. This place is giving me the wiggins."

Goku shrugged. He didn't feel much better, but sometimes a little was enough. It was just strange that Qing would be the one who would try to comfort him; he didn't figure her for a mothering kind of person. But since Hakkai was now pretty much out of commission, he supposed she had to take over. Or something. "Yeah."

He had been generally fine with her from the beginning, but it rankled on his nerves whenever she said particularly nasty things to Sanzo, and so he pretty much disliked her on principle. Now, though, he was beginning to wonder if there was more to what he'd seen so far.

Even as Qing hunted around for the things she needed, she wondered if she'd been attacked by demons a little too much and had become as warped as the rest of them. Since when had she even bothered with what anyone else thought or felt, especially people like _them_? It was not like they could help her in advancing her social status or anything that was really important. This was just too strange.

So wrapped up in her thoughts was she that she didn't see Goku's eyes widen in surprise, or hear him shout her name as something hard slammed into her.

She saw the seat of the Jeep rush up to her, but she never felt it hit.

…

Meanwhile, unaware of what was currently happening to the other two, Sanzo brooded. Now both Gojyo and Hakkai were out of commission, and things were looking pretty bad for them. Who knew what was going to happen next?

__

I don't know what caused Chin Iisou's hatred, but one thing's clear: he doesn't want to kill Hakkai. He wants to break him.

That pissed him off a lot more than if Chin Iisou had been looking to kill all of them.

No matter how much or violently he denied it, the three of them had already become somewhat like his friends, even though he didn't believe in that particular notion. True, he still didn't trust them overly much, but he was at least comfortable enough with them not to be too hostile.

Hell, even the wench had pretty much reached 'barely tolerable' status despite all her bitching and whining and everything else annoying about her. Damn it all, he really must be going soft.

…

Once again, Hakkai was dreaming. This time, Kanan was holding his hand, and she was smiling and laughing with him. It felt so real, her hand was warm in his own, as if she'd never left at all.

__

I love you, Kanan…

"I found a job! The pay isn't that great, but it's enough for two people to live on. So let's live together."

"Gono…we aren't alone anymore, are we?"

Her eyes were a sparkling, piercing green that never failed to melt his heart…

As her face slowly faded away into nothing, he stepped forward and opened the door. It seemed like he was doomed to forever repeat this dream.

"Kanan, I'm home!"

Instead of his smiling lover, the entire house was empty, and it was a total mess, as if a hurricane itself had gone through it. Everything fragile was broken, and there were smudges of red on the floor. He stared, unable to believe what he was seeing. Her clothes were all on the floor, ripped to shreds, and again there were more of those red smudges…was that blood?

"Kanan…"

"We had no choice!" The village chief replied forcefully, then held his weeping wife and daughter close; it was as if the bastard was mocking him. "If we didn't offer Kanan, I would have to offer my daughter! You know, don't you? Hyakuganmaou is already in this village!"

He stared flatly at them, trying hard to suppress his rage. "So you used Kanan as a substitute?" somehow that enraged him all the more.

"Well, what did you expect us to do?" the village chief asked spitefully, glaring at him in barely disguised contempt. "The two of you don't even have parents, how could you even know how we parents feel? Besides, no one will miss either of you when you're gone!"

…

"Kanan," he said softly as he slid down to the floor half an hour later, gazing at his blood slicked hands. The stench of death hung in the village chief's room as bodies of those whom he had once treated as friends littered the floor. His rage abated, he simply wondered at the transition from mild schoolteacher to mass murderer. It hadn't seemed as difficult or impossible as he'd thought it would be; not that he thought about killing people that much, anyway. "I'm sorry, Kanan….you said you loved my hands, but they're full of blood now…I'll save you…"

I definitely will…

He didn't know how long he'd been awake, but he saw the ragged ceilings of the cave beyond the hand he had currently held up; one that was blessedly free of blood. The intensity of the dream still kept him off-balance, and for a moment, he briefly wondered if he was back in that place again…

…until a familiar voice spoke to him. "You're awake?"

Hakkai didn't bother to sit up, realizing that he lay on a hastily made futon. Sanzo sat at the mouth of the cave, calmly reading the newspaper. It was a strangely comforting sight, seeing him doing something as normal as that. Did that mean that everything was all right now?

"Where…are we?"

"We're still in the forest. Less than half a day's passed."

It seemed like forever. "I see."

Sanzo paused for a moment. "Do you remember the perverted fortune teller?"

He sat up. "No, but he knows what I've done—"

"As well as your old name."

"Yes. And he hates me."

"I've heard a rumor that there is a survivor from the Hyakuganmaou clan." Sanzo did not bother to look up from his newspaper. He didn't want to see Hakkai's vulnerability. Calm and thoughtful, the man had always been the stabilizing force of the group, but now it seemed like he was the most emotionally unstable of them all.

"Hyakuganmaou…" Hakkai echoed shakily. He hadn't heard that name in a long, long while. "I thought every single one of them was killed." _By me._

"If you asked me, they got off too easily." Sanzo muttered, taking off his glasses.

"Is that any way for a monk to talk?" Gojyo teased as he appeared a little way from the entrance of the cave.

"Gojyo?"

Gojyo shook his head, looking mildly frustrated. "No dice. I couldn't find them anywhere in this fog."

"Couldn't find them?" Hakkai echoed, confused for a moment. Who couldn't he find?

And then it hit him. Why were there only the two of them here? "Goku? Miss Qing? Has something happened to them?" he was already beginning to panic. If they were hurt, or worse, dead, it would be his fault, and—and—

"After you collapsed," Sanzo explained, pulling no punches. "They both went to get water and supplies. We haven't seen either of them since, along with Jeep."

Hakkai frantically moved to get up and try to find them himself, but Gojyo shoved him back down. "You stay put!" he snapped. "It's you he's after!"

Hakkai glared at his friend, unable to believe what he was hearing. Goku was missing, and here Gojyo was telling him to not do anything? "Are you telling me to sit by and watch as more people get hurt because of me?"

"There's a word called 'muichimotsu'." Sanzo said evenly, before Gojyo could say anything in response.

Surprised by the interruption, the two of them turned from each other to see that Sanzo was already standing outside, cigarette pack in hand. "If you encounter Buddha, kill him. If you meet your ancestor, kill him. Beholden to nothing and no one, live only for yourself." He paused for a long moment, remembering his master.

"That's the one and only piece of knowledge my predecessor passed on to me." He turned back to them, amethyst eyes steely and determined. "That's why I go on killing anything and everything that gets in my way. Regardless of who they might be. If you understand that, calm down and get your strength back. I don't need people who'll just be in the way."

It was the first time Sanzo had said something like this. Hakkai stared at him for a long moment. It seemed like Genjo Sanzo knew just how to play the game; he was a born leader, all right. He knew that would work on his teammates and what wouldn't, and did not waste any time on consoling people.

Hakkai sighed and sat back down. What else could he do but obey? "All right."

…

"So what's the plan?" Gojyo asked a little later as they walked along. Hakkai had gone back to sleep, his exhaustion overtaking him once again.

"What plan?"

"The monkey and the chick, of course!"

"Their whereabouts are unknown, and the fog won't lift. I'd say we're pretty much screwed."

"I hate being stuck like this." He put a cigarette to his lips.

"If we lose even one of us, he wins."

Gojyo crushed the empty cigarette pack darkly, remembering the reactions of his teammates when he got hit by that damn doll. He hated that he had been the one who caused them to fear and Hakkai to panic. "Fuck it, I ain't gonna die. I mega-hate losing."

"Knock off that 'mega' shit." Sanzo took a long, slow drag from his cigarette.

"What is it, then?"

He thought for a moment, then shrugged carelessly. "Ultra-hate."

…

The first thing that Goku felt when he came to was pain.

A lot of pain.

"Ow…" he groaned, trying to move his arm and failing miserably. It seemed like his entire body had gone on strike for the time being. He blinked a couple of times, trying to remember where he was. Well, at least the sun wasn't shining too brightly at the moment.

Catching sight of the twenty-foot high cliff that he'd fallen from, he simply groaned and leaned back. It hurt too much to even think right now, and it seemed like his innards were exploding. The excruciating throb of pain in his left leg caught his attention. "It must be broken or something," he muttered to himself. His mouth felt like cotton wool, and he felt like he had just been hit by the side of a mountain.

"But then again, falling from that height and just getting a broken leg means I got let off easy." He sighed and allowed himself to rest a little more until his body felt less like a gigantic bruise. "They're probably looking for us right now…it's not like they'll just leave us here."

__

Chin Iisou…who the heck is he? The guy knocked out Qing and attacked me so suddenly, I had no choice but to run. The guy's like a snake; wherever I went, he followed. And then…and then I fell here…the guy is a psycho, and he smells just like a corpse. He snorted to himself. _This is the first time I've ever run away from something. _"Chin Iisou," he said aloud, looking up. "He's definitely got some kind of vendetta with Hakkai…but what was it? And why is he gunning for Gojyo, Qing, and me? It's just too weird…"

"Kyuu!" Came a happy chirp, and the next thing he knew, Jeep landed lightly beside him, flapping his wings. "Kyuu!"

"Jeep!" he exclaimed gleefully, his pains mostly forgotten. Heck, he thought that he would never see the little white dragon again! "You…you followed me here?"

Jeep nodded.

"Ooh, you're so great!" A delighted Goku glomped on the unsuspecting dragon, earning a winded chirp from said dragon. "Even if I'm dying of hunger, I will NEVER AGAIN think of eating you!"

This, in itself, was highly disturbing, because it meant that Goku had thought of Jeep as food at one time or another. Thankfully, Jeep had decided not to pursue this matter, pleased as he was at finding the monkey again.

Letting go of the dragon, Goku's smile faded as he remembered something. "Jeep, if you're here, where's Qing? Did Chin Iisou take her away?"

"That creepo's not taking me anywhere," A familiar voice grumbled from above him. "So he's the one who attacked me?"

Startled, Goku looked up to see an annoyed Qing, who was kneeling over the edge and looking down at him.

"Qing!" he shouted happily, pleased to see that though she looked pretty roughed up, she was at least alive and talking.

She winced at that, putting a hand to her head. "Do you mind? I feel like I've just been hit by a Mack truck, and I was just treated to the wonderful feeling of the ground doing a Tilt-a-Whirl impression twenty minutes ago. So please, no sudden loud noises, okay?"

Again with the incomprehensible speech. "Uh?"

"Oh, forget it." She peered down at him and made a face. "Ew, what happened to you?"

He looked uncomfortable. "Chin Iisou. It's uh…kind of a long story."

Qing raised an eyebrow. "You fell running from him?"

He deflated. "Okay, so it isn't that long."

She looked him over critically, taking in his bruises. "You look like a mutant."

The insult was totally lost on him as he looked aghast. "Well, whaddya expect? I just fell twenty feet!"

"Better you than me, is what I say." She paused and looked around furtively. "And I'd like to get out of here before that twisted freak decides to come back. Can you climb up, Goku?"

He reluctantly nodded. "I can try."

It took all his strength to get to his feet, and he winced as pain exploded from his broken leg. Leaning against the side of the mountain, he gritted his teeth and tried to somehow get his balance without aggravating his leg too much.

"Hey, are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he bit out, fighting against the intense pain. "It's just a broken leg—"

"_Just_ a broken leg? You couldn't have told me that sooner?"

"I'm fine, really," he insisted. It was upsetting enough that he had run away from Chin Iisou like a coward, and to be incapacitated because of his broken leg, especially in front of a _girl_, was humiliating. "I can get up there in a min—"

"Is this a macho thing? Handicapped man against the mountain?"

He was insulted. "I'm not handicapped! I'm just—"

She rolled her eyes in exasperation, obviously not understanding how the male mind operated. "Paging Mr. Testosterone Poisoned! Which one of us is lying in pain at the bottom of a mountain?"

"I'm not lyin—"

"Jeep, I need you a moment. Hold on for a while, Goku."

The dragon obediently flew upwards with a chirp, obviously eager to help.

Sighing to herself, she shook her head. "God knows why I always get stuck with the icky work. I'm telling you, no one has suffered like I have."

Qing disappeared from the edge and appeared a couple of minutes later. Goku, who had been leaning against the side, looked up curiously.

He didn't have to ask, though, because the looped end of a rope tumbled down next. "Grab hold of that and hang on." She instructed. "You'll be up in a minute."

He stared at the rope. "Where'd you get this from?"

"You didn't notice? Hakkai stuck it under the Jeep's backseat the other day, just before we set off."

He was impressed. He didn't know that Qing could take her eyes off her self-grooming sessions long enough to see what other people were doing. "You actually noticed what Hakkai was doing?"

"Will you just grab the rope? This place is giving me the wiggins and you're really not helping."

"But—"

"Just hold it, okay?" Came the testy response. She was not in the best of moods, thanks to that particularly annoying throb somewhere at the back of her skull. Thank God she wasn't bleeding. Having bloodstains on top of the tear she'd made in this top would really be the worst thing that could ever happen to her. She was going to have to wear this thing for a little while longer, after all, and she liked it blood-free.

He took the looped end, and Qing disappeared once again. This time, though, he heard the start of an engine, and he felt himself being slowly pulled upwards. The pain wasn't too bad now, though scraping against the jagged side of the cliff wasn't exactly a painless experience.

As soon as he got to the top, Qing took the rope from him and helped him up.

"Thanks," he told her, surprised that she was actually being…nice.

She looked mildly uncomfortable as she helped him to the waiting jeep. "Well…you have on occasion saved my butt and stuff, so I'm doing you a favor."

__

A favor?

…

A twig snapped and footsteps caught their attention immediately. The two men turned to see Goku and Qing running back towards them.

"Hey, there you are!" Goku announced happily. "I thought you left us behind!"

"Yeah, what are you guys doing out here?" Qing asked as she panted, face flushed with exertion.

"Goku? Wench?" Sanzo stared.

"You idiots!" Gojyo snapped, inwardly relieved that they hadn't been killed or anything, and pissed that they had taken so damn long to come back.

"What?" Qing frowned as Gojyo gave Goku a noogie prize. "We got lost, that was all!"

Gojyo was still tormenting the monkey, who was struggling to get free. "We got the water and the supplies, but then we got lost."

Qing giggled as she watched the two of them, seemingly taking no offence at being called an idiot.

"Goku! Miss Qing!" Hakkai exclaimed as he walked out of the cave. He'd heard their voices and had come out to see what was happening. "You guys are okay!"

He ran towards them and checked Goku over to see if he was hurt in any way, then turned worriedly to Qing and did the same. Heaving a great sigh of relief when he realized that neither of them were even the slightest bit scratched, he smiled and relaxed, almost slumping over. "Thank goodness. Please, don't worry us like that again."

Goku nodded. "Right. Sorry."

Qing smiled. "Never again."

Sanzo was still watching them, his features schooled into an emotionless expression. "Oi."

"Huh?"

"Yes?"

"What happened to Jeep?"

"We got separated along the way," Goku said as he made his way towards Sanzo, patting his arm. "Don't worry, we'll find him when the fog lifts. Anyway, let's get outta here, this forest gives me the wiggins."

The last word itself was a dead giveaway, the strangeness of it and the staunch knowledge that his ward definitely did not know that particular word cemented his suspicion.

The monkey walked on, and stopped when Sanzo spoke again. "Goku."

The click of the gun caught everyone by surprise, especially since it was now pointed point blank at Goku. Sanzo's face was a hard mask.

"S…Sanzo?" the monkey stammered fearfully as the cold barrel of the gun pressed against his head. "W-what's wrong? What's going on here?"

"Sanzo?" Hakkai asked worriedly, wondering if the monk had finally snapped. Why was he holding the gun to Goku's head?

Gojyo was likewise stumped as he watched the scene before him with apprehension. Was this the monk's idea of a joke? Somehow it didn't seem very funny. "Dude, what're you doing? That's Goku, for fuck's sake!"

The gun never wavered. "Sanzo…hey, Sanzo. Sanzo…"

"It's not you." He announced flatly, pointedly ignoring the past few comments from the onlookers. "You're not that dumbass monkey."

"I-it's me, Sanzo!"

Hearing that word from this thing's mouth sickened him to no end. "Let me tell you something, the only person who can say that name is that dumbass monkey."

A gunshot, and Goku fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, crumbling to dust shortly after.

Sanzo leveled his gun at a wide-eyed Qing and said coldly. "If I shoot you, will you crumble, too?"

She backed away immediately. "N-no! Of course not! I mean—I—I didn't know that he was a shikigami! I'm Qing! I swear, I really am!"

He took a step forward, his eyes narrowed. Hell, he'd always wondered what it would be like to shoot the wench in the head, and now he _finally_ had a chance to do it. "Shut up, bitch."

"Look, I c-can prove it! I mean—how do you know that I'm not real? I—"

His diction was deadly. "I said shut up."

Before she could say anything else, a bullet tore into her skull.

"She wore black shoes, not brown ones." He muttered offhandedly as she crumbled to dust before their very eyes.

Gojyo goggled at him incredulously. "Dude, you noticed her _shoes?_"

Sanzo was clearly not in the mood for stupid questions like these as he glared at him. "What about it?"

"Do you know what it means when you notice a girl's shoes?"

"Who cares?"

Gojyo looked like he was about to say something, but then thought the better of it and shrugged. The forest around them had plunged into an unearthly silence, reminding them of their present situation. Casting the previous thought away, he focused on the task at hand. Which meant taunting the cowardly freakish demon and settling the score. There would be plenty of time to tease the corrupt monk later. "Come on out, Chin Iisou! The esteemed Lord Sanzo's pretty pissed off right now."

"Those were pretty well-made dolls, too." Chin Iisou's smugly annoying voice wafted out to them. He was right, the bastard had not been too far away from them. "How did you know?"

"You should do your homework," Sanzo responded coolly, without a trace of emotion in his tone. Hell, he could've been talking about the weather, what with all the inflection his voice held. "Goku's first line is always 'I'm hungry.'" He paused for a moment. "And the wench is not nearly as pleasant."

"You should talk." Gojyo muttered under his breath, just out of range of Sanzo's hearing. Inwardly, he was still wondering why he hadn't seen those points in the first place.

The fortune-teller cackled, looking mildly contemptuous. "Oh, really? How…intricate."

The gun was now pointed at the offending demon. "Where are they?"

"Well, what do you think? Are they wandering around in this fog? Or are they…"

…

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Prettystupidgirl: Hello, hellooo! Ack, not the fan! Thanks for the nice reviews you keep leaving behind for me, it's very much appreciated.

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Sukilovesanime: I hope you like this story too!

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Risika Tziporah: All right, I'll go check out your fic one of these days!

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Sanzo-sama's Lover: Thanks for the vote of confidence on Qing, LOL. I did my best not to make her a Mary-Sue, no matter what it seems like on face value, so that people can actually kind of connect with her in a way…of course, I'll check out your story! I don't have anything against Mary-Sues, actually. They're pretty cool in their own way, and hey, it's a free world.

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Setine: Thanks!

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T: Thanks so much for thinking so highly of my story, LOL. I hope this chapter was to your liking, too.

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Pacioli: LOL, thanks!

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Alowl: Yup, it's pretty much a Mary-Sue with a twist. I put her beauty in as a pretty much in-your-face thing, and made her extremely superficial for amusement purposes a la Cordelia Chase, but she's pretty much still a person and still learning and growing up.

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Saiyukisexy: Thanks! OC is called Original Character, something like Qing is…

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Steph: Thank you very much for your kind review. I appreciate it very much, and it was kind of why the next chapter came out faster than usual. You noticed the Sanzo-Qing-Hakkai triangle? LOL you're the first person to say that! I'm happy and flattered that you like Qing and my writing, and I shall definitely do better in the future. Qing took quite a lot of effort to develop and implement, but encouraging and nice reviews like yours make it all worthwhile. Take care.


	10. Aftermath

Hello, here I am again! Sorry for the long wait, all! Disclaimer's as always, nothing but Qing belongs to me, blah, blah…well, read and enjoy!

…

…

Chin Iisou did not flinch as Sanzo's bullet whizzed narrowly past him, oily smile still securely in place. He did not have anything to fear, after all, considering the incapacitation of two of them. And with Cho Gono's current emotional state, he couldn't even hurt a fly.

Just what he'd wanted.

…

"I'm not like you, Chin Iisou," The defeated look on the undead bastard's face was priceless even as Hakkai enunciated his words clearly. He had felt sick when he had to thrust his hand through his body, but the sense of triumph he felt pretty much evened it all out. He had fought his monster, and had won this battle. He had not won the war—he wasn't sure if he could—but this, at least, was something. "I'm not a thing without a past and a future."

At last, it was finally over. The thing that had once been the son of Hyakuganmaou was forever gone. The forest resumed it's activities, crickets chirped, and insects found their way back to their holes, carrying on with their little jobs.

Hakkai expelled his breath in a sigh; he was tired and drained from all that had happened, and what he wanted now was just to rest.

"Come on," Sanzo muttered as he lit yet another cigarette. "I don't want to spend the whole day just standing around."

"For the record, I still say 'yuck'." Qing said to no one in particular as she ran her fingers through her hair. Hakkai didn't miss the fact that Qing was deliberately avoiding him.

"No one asked," the monk grunted as he headed off.

"We'll need to get your leg treated, Goku," Hakkai told Goku, remembering that the boy was wounded. In the heat of the battle, he had almost forgotten about that. "It looks like it's getting worse."

"Yeah," Goku inclined his head towards Qing. "She didn't know how to bandage my leg properly."

Qing rolled her eyes. "What did you expect? I'm a cheerleader, not a medic."

…

It was all too freaky. Never in her life had Qing thought that Hakkai, of all people, had that sort of…past. She'd thought that he was always the grounded, least insane one of the group, and the fact that she had found out what had happened with his girlfriend…

__

What do I call her? She wondered. _Girlfriend, or sister? _It was just too unnerving. She had not encountered anything like this before, and she did not know how to react. Incest was taboo where she came from, and just plain gross. But here…

What kind of hell had Hecate gotten her into? The guy went psycho and obliterated a village _and_ an entire kingdom of icky insect demons all by himself, and became a demon, too. In fact, all of them, save for Sanzo, were demons.

She shuddered. How weird was that?

__

I want to go home, she thought fiercely. _Before I go insane. These people are so clearly nutcases. _All of them were unlike anyone she had ever met or dealt with, and it was just too stressful. Sure, they were impressive, and she had seen another side of Sanzo that made her grudgingly respect him. He was not that much of a jackass after all, after the way he dealt with the situation, stepping back to let Hakkai handle his own demons without much complaint. Not like she was observing, or anything, but all this…it was just too crazy.

Especially Hakkai.

What was she going to do now?

She watched as Hakkai tended to Goku's injury with infinite patience, his soft laugh wafting over gently to her. He still acted, and looked like the same Hakkai she—to put it in the loosest sense of the word—knew. Was he going to go all psychotic again? He killed people. Demons and people just because of one person. She could not understand why. It was not like she cared about those people—and she really didn't mind him killing those demons, since they all kept trying to kill humans in general, anyway—but she came from a time where normal people didn't just massacre other people just because something really, really bad happened to them. It spoke volumes of his uncontrollable rage, and from what she knew of uncontrollable, it would most probably rear it's ugly head at any time.

__

It doesn't really matter, does it? Came a sudden thought. _It all happened before he was _here_ with them. I have nothing to be afraid of. It's not like he'll suddenly go crazy and try to kill all of us or something._

Right?

"You're not going to go nuts again and try to kill me or anything, right?" Qing asked suddenly, unable to help herself. There was just no nice way to put it—if there was, she probably wouldn't know—and she really had to ask.

Gojyo stared at her question.

Hakkai paused, taken by surprise. Was that the reason why she had been quiet all this time? He had to admit, it was strange to not hear Qing complaining about something or engaging in a verbal sparring session with the resident grumpy monk. She looked entirely serious, and he detected a hint of fear in her eyes. Fear, and doubt. "I believe not, Miss Qing," he said as gently as possible. "You can trust me on this."

"I don't." She snapped. "You're not exactly Mr. Balanced, and you've got serious anger management issues."

"Qing," Gojyo started in defence of his closest buddy. "You don't understand stuff, so don't talk like you know about it."

"What I know is this," Came the hot response. "You killed people. Okay, so they maybe aren't like saints or anything, but you _killed_ them. Because you were pissed. And nothing you can say to me is gonna make that all right."

Hakkai remained silent, unable to say a thing. Weren't these words the same ones he had told himself over and over again? He was no longer fit for his beloved Kanan anymore; his hands were soaked in blood, and he would never be able to wash them away. Sanzo and the others had never judged him by what he'd done, had never accused him point-blank of what he was. He knew that what he had done had been inexcusable, but the rage had been all-consuming, his despair, his anger…it was all that drove him then, when his beloved had been snatched away from him.

"What, wench, can't you take the heat?" Sanzo suddenly asked, a cruel smile curving on his thin lips. His eyes were hard and unyielding. "We've all killed people here. What are you going to do now, cry and run away to your meddling goddess?"

Qing's eyes widened. "I—"

He cut her off, eyeing her dangerously. "You think you're so perfect, don't you? You go on and on about your pathetic idealist rules; you know nothing of what life is like here, who are you to make judgements?"

She scowled. "I'm speaking as Miss Sanity here, that's who!"

Sanzo snorted, coldly amused. "Take a look around, _girl. _You're in a world where the weak are prey, where people kill to survive. What would you do," He raised his gun and cocked it. "If I were to kill you now?"

He leveled the gun at her. Moving faster than she ever did in her whole life—now that it seemed that her survival depended on it—she scrambled for her bow and arrow and brought it up, fighting to keep from trembling. She was afraid. Hell, she was afraid and confused and heaven knew what else. But she was Rong Ziqing, and Rong Ziqing would never concede defeat. Next to Gojyo, Goku stiffened, sensing the danger to his guardian.

"I'd like to see you try." Her voice was not as strong as she would like it to be, but then again, it was still remarkable that she could even say anything through the huge lump that was in her throat. The guy looked like he really meant to use the gun on her.

"Will you kill me?"

"If you're going to shoot me."

__

You see now? A little voice whispered in her mind. _This is why they have to kill. In a world like this, only survival matters. Just like you have never lived in their world, they have never lived in yours. Herein lies the soul of your test, young one. Will you show your cowardice now?_

Hard amethyst eyes bored into her own in silent challenge. She stared right back. As crazy as she thought Hecate to be, she knew that the goddess would never abandon her to a bunch of psychotic nutjobs. There must be something that she wanted her to learn from them. But what was it? Why them?

__

Well, I'll find out sooner or later. Until Hecate decides to take me back, all I have is time. Might as well make the best out of it.

"And don't be stupid," Qing told him disgustedly, belatedly remembering what he'd said to her earlier. "I'm not going to cry and go back to Hecate just because I found out Hakkai and you guys killed a whole bunch of people."

"I didn't kill people." Goku scowled.

Sanzo tucked his gun impassively into his sleeve, ignoring Goku. _At least the woman's got some backbone. _"Pity."

…

This time, though, Qing was the one who found Hakkai on his balcony, staring up at nothing in particular. The incident with Chin Iisou had been resolved, and Qing had a few days to get over the trauma and plenty of time to think. Six months ago, she wouldn't have believed that she would be thinking about a person who single-handedly annihilated a whole lot of people and demons, much less befriending them, but life was weird that way.

They had checked into an inn earlier that evening, and the others had already retired to their rooms for the night, having had four long days on the road. Qing, who had the room next to his, surprised them all by not making up any kind of fuss about it, considering that she hardly spoke to Hakkai for the past couple of days.

It wasn't that she didn't want to, honestly. It was just that…no matter what Sanzo had said, what the strange little voice had told her, she still needed time to accept it. And she had been surprised to realize that it was not as difficult as she had thought it would be. It was more sad than horrifying, actually. To lose the one person in the world you were soulmates with—the eww factor of incest notwithstanding—must be pretty heartbreaking. Qing knew that she could not possibly be that devastated, but what she did not understand, she saw.

At least she knew the reason for the sad emerald eyes.

To hold on to sadness for so long, to smile through the pain…it was admirable, indeed. And besides, how could she _not _talk to him? He was the one person she had come to rely on, and the one person she was beginning to really like.

"Miss Qing?"

"Hi," Qing began a little hesitantly, stepping out onto his balcony. "Your uh, door was unlocked, so I decided to come in."

"Did you need anything?" he asked carefully. It was obvious that she had already finished with her nightly beauty rituals.

"Can I sit down?"

He blinked. That wasn't what he had expected her to ask. Nevertheless, he slid over on the wooden bench to make space for her. "Of course. Have a seat."

"Thanks."

They were silent for a long moment before Qing finally spoke again. "Hakkai?"

"Yes?"

"Are you doing the whole loser-man pining thing again? 'Cause it gets tiring."

Hakkai blinked, not quite knowing what to say to that. "I'm sorry?"

She shrugged. "Well, I'm here to tell you to get over it. You know, let it go. You can't live in the past forever. Move on to the living. Smell the roses. Did I mention to let it go?"

He had a mild, surreal feeling about the entire thing. "Twice."

"Right." She nodded, looking pleased with herself. "Good." Then she sighed. "Look, comforting people isn't really my thing. It's just—does it still hurt?"

The word 'I'm fine' died on his lips. He had expected her to ask the question Gojyo occasionally asked—"You all right, man?"—but how should he answer this? It was blunt and straight to the point, something none of the guys—even Goku—would ever ask. Should he lie? Or should he tell the truth? What was the answer to that kind of question?

He finally settled on a thin smile that barely touched his eyes. "A little lesser than before." There. A relatively vague answer that would satisfy her. Then he remembered something. "You are not afraid of me now?"

"What?"

"These past few days, you've never once looked me in the eye."

She snorted. "Don't give yourself so much credit. I was horrified, not afraid. Not everyone's got friends who went Charles Manson on a village _and_ a demon kingdom. Takes some getting used to."

"Who is this Charles Manson?"

"A homicidal maniac." At his involuntary flinch, she shrugged. "You asked."

"Did you come here just to tell me this?"

"No." She shifted uncomfortably on her seat. "Remember when you found me out here on my first night?" Without waiting for him to respond, she continued. "Well, I thought you could use a little company right about now."

He took that in. "Thank you for your consideration, Qing, but I'm—"

Qing expelled an exasperated breath, already knowing what the man was about to say. "Just shut up, Hakkai. I'm not going to pry or ask stupid questions or anything. I'm just gonna sit here."

For all of Qing's faults—many and glaring as they were—leaving a friend alone was not one of them.

"And," she started again after a moment's silence. "Not to sound Oprah or anything, but I'm here if you want to talk."

A needless, but appreciated gesture all the same. "Thanks."

They sat like that for a long time.

…

__

You will be our hands. You will exact our retribution.

Vengeance is mine to have.

Offer your obeisance, and you shall taste it.

She had a purpose, and she would fulfill it. There was no other way, and there was nothing else. She had nothing else.

But here…now…

__

Now…

Where am I?

"Ah, the wildcard has awakened." A smooth voice sounded somewhere above her. He sounded so faraway, yet so near at the same time.

__

Who…? Who are you?

"Pardon my manners, Sorceress. My name is Nii. Professor Nii Jienyi at your service."

It was still pitch black, and she could see nothing. She could only feel the cold metal against her back, and there was something holding her wrists down. It didn't feel like she had her normal clothes on, and it disturbed her greatly. Where the hell was she? Where had the Erinyes sent her?

The voice was still talking, but she had tuned him out a long time ago. He spoke senseless words, things that didn't matter a bit to her.

__

Shut up…I have no need for your useless speech.

What she had in return was a soft, amused laugh. "You will do well to treat your elders with respect, girl. Rest now. You will see the Empress tomorrow, and we'll see what you can do."

__

The Empress…what kind of a place was she in? Was the bitch sent here, too?

No matter. She would find out soon.

…

The next few days passed, with them moving relentlessly towards the West. And of course, one could not forget the minor irritants that cropped up along the way. Gojyo and Goku were most grateful for the occasional delusional troupe of demons who thought that they would be able to kick the Sanzo-ikkou's collective ass.

Qing, for one, did not bother with the fighting unless she was forced to, and Sanzo preferred to save his bullets for more worthwhile demons. The two of them still exchanged barbed remarks on a daily basis, but it was easy to see that their relationship had a little more…mutual respect to it now. Not that either one of them cared, anyway.

Right now, though, the entire gang's moods were significantly lifted. Sanzo was generous enough to book into a relatively well-furnished inn _and _the restaurant actually had enough food to go around.

"Ahhhhh, I'm full! Man, they really do serve good food here!" Goku announced happily, leaning back from this thousandth plate of fried noodles. The fact that they had good food did not hurt, too. The waiters had not worked fast enough to clear the plates from their table, so a whole stack of plates and bowls teetered precariously over all of them. Qing, the only female in the group, was—for the first time—too sleepy to make any scathing comment about the state of the restaurant.

"It's been a long time since we've had a proper meal," Hakkai agreed as he took a sip of his green tea. He was happy, too. This meant that Jeep would have a chance to get a good rest, and he would be able to replenish their food supplies.

"Tea's a bit weak." Sanzo muttered. "An average restaurant, I'd say."

Goku was in too good of a mood to be affected by his guardian's somewhat dour opinion. "Hey, Sanzo, what do we do now?"

"We get supplies, then leave tomorrow morning."

"Well, then." Gojyo stood up, as if that settled everything.

"What's up, Gojyo?"

"We're leaving tomorrow, accommodations are taken care of," he grinned wickedly. "So there's only one thing to be done. It's time to hit on some chicks."

Qing rolled her eyes. "Figures."

…

"You feeling well, woman?" Sanzo asked abruptly as soon as Hakkai and Goku left to do the shopping. It did not escape his notice that the wench was quieter and much more irritable than usual for the past couple of days, and it would be really troublesome if she were to fall sick. She didn't even complain when Sanzo booked one room instead of five.

A fatigued Qing was resting, curled up on her own bed, and had opened an eye to regard him. "Cramps, but I'll live."

Sanzo glanced at her through his reading glasses, then said. "Pull up the blankets. I don't need you catching a cold on top of everything else."

"I'm fine," Qing told him, a little ruffled that he was treating her like a five-year old burden. "I just need to sleep a little, that's all."

With a grunt, he poured a cup of tea for her and placed it on her bedstand, then placed two painkillers next to the cup. Without saying anything, he went back to the table and his newspaper. Qing stared down at the cup and the painkillers in surprise. Why was he being…nice? "All right, who are you and what have you done to the real Sanzo?"

Sanzo glared at her. "If I knew you would be that ungrateful, I wouldn't have done so."

"I just thought that it's not like you to be nice, that's all."

"I'm not being nice. I just don't want you to get sick now. It'll be a whole lot of trouble."

She scowled at him. "Why thank you, Mr. Sensitivity."

He wasn't even looking at her. "You're welcome."

…

"You're the best, Hakkai!" Goku gushed happily as he trotted with the taller man down the crowded streets. It seemed like today was market day, because even at this hour, people were still busy shopping. Arms full of groceries and the food that Hakkai had so kindly purchased for him, Goku was about to ask for something else when something caught his eye.

Right down the alleyway, he saw the unmistakable back of Gojyo with a girl who only reached to his waist. Either the chick was a midget or—

Horrified, Goku froze in his tracks and gaped at the bizarre sight. He knew that Gojyo was a pervert, but a pedophile? Was he really that desperate? The mental image of the perverted kappa running through grassy meadows with a five year old was just too disturbing. And besides, what would they—Oh, his brain was hurting already.

"Hakkai!" he squeaked. "Hakkai, come and see something! Gojyo is—Gojyo—" He sounded very much like a fish out of water at the moment, simply because he could not bring himself to finish the sentence.

A curious Hakkai came over, glancing around. "What about Gojyo?"

"He—he's dating a little girl! Look!"

Hakkai looked in the direction of Goku's shaking finger, but there was nothing there. "Are you sure you aren't seeing things, Goku? There's no one there."

"I'm telling you, I SAW them! The girl could not have been older than five! Or something!"

Hakkai laughed. "You must be imagining things, Goku. Gojyo might be many things, but he isn't a pedophile."

…

Slow, even breathing was the only sign that Qing had already fallen asleep, which meant that it was the green light to reach for a cigarette. He'd abstained from smoking in the room so far because he was in no mood for the wench's bitching, and besides, he had one last stick left, and he fully intended on enjoying it.

Lighting up the cigarette, he inhaled deeply and was about to go back to reading his newspaper when a mild chill touched the air, signalling nightfall. Hakkai and Goku sure were taking their own sweet time shopping. Either that, or Hakkai had to make a pit stop to feed the damn monkey's bottomless pit of a stomach.

His gaze flicked involuntarily to the sleeping young woman, and he scowled lightly, placing the cigarette onto the ashtray. Damn wench never listened to him, did she? She was curled up into a ball, and it didn't take a genius to see that she was feeling the chill more than he was.

"Stupid wench." He muttered to himself. He had half a mind to leave her where she was, but had stood up and moved over to her instead. It wouldn't do for her to fall sick and be more tiresome than ever.

He pulled the covers up to her shoulders, and was relieved when she did not even stir. It'd be annoying if she awoke halfway and saw what she was doing. The painkillers and the tea in the cup were gone. Well, at least the wench did something right. She'd been extremely quiet, though; he would've thought that she would be a lot bitchier when she was in pain.

__

Come to think of it, he thought idly, watching her sleep. _She hasn't been that bitchy nowadays. _Her inherent self-centeredness was still fully intact, but it was lacking the distinct cattiness she had possessed in abundance during her first few weeks here. He had also begun to see her—through subtle observation—as she was.

The girl, though exceedingly annoying, had a bite of steel in her that none of the females in this world had. Despite her fear of demons and the unknown, despite the number of times she'd almost gotten killed, she had never walked away. She might have bitched to kingdom come, and he might have snapped at her right back, but she had never once run away, not even when she found out about Hakkai and his past. He had thought that she would have left for sure, but she surprised him by staying and by struggling to understand the world she had been thrust into. Had she really changed that much? Or was he beginning to see another side of her that he had never seen before?

Watching her sleep, however, he realized just how young she really was. When all the carefully applied make-up was wiped away, a girl-woman, not much older than a child, was left in the place of the spoilt, haughty, self-centered bitch. A child who was still trying to make sense of the world around her. Briefly, he wondered what her world was like. Was it extremely different from this world?

But then again, why, really, would he care? What the hell was wrong with him?

__

Hakkai better hurry his ass up, he thought irritably, stalking back to his table where his newspaper was waiting. Damn wench affected his thinking even when she was sleeping. Never mind the cigarette still burning in the ashtray; he was in the mood for quite a few packs of the damn things.

…

**AN: **Screw Ffnet's damn rule. I'm still replying to my reviewers.

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Steph: Hey, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, too!

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Risika Tziporah: Hey, thanks for the compliment. How goes your Saiyuki story?

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PrEtTyStUpIdGiRl: LOL sorry for the late uploading of the chapter. I hope you liked this chapter, and I'll post the next one as soon as possible!

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Pacioli: Thanks! There's a tad bit more…feeling in this chapter as compared to the rest, I'm taking the romance bit really slowly so it's believable, considering Qing's and Sanzo's behavior towards each other.

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SukiLovesAnime: Hey there, thanks for reading!

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Sally: Thank you for your compliment. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

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Cherryblossoms: Well, here you go!

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Sanzo-sama's Lover: Hey there, thanks once again for reviewing so kindly. LOL thanks for reading through all my chapters. Yeah, she's grown a lot, hasn't she? Brown shoes, eh? I'll leave you to find out what noticing someone's shoes mean…hee.

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Muffliato: Thanks!

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Flamestrike: Heehee, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

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Faerie Rocker 91: Hey there, thanks a lot for reading my story. LOL some of the other OC stories are not that bad. I could recommend uh…one to you that's actually good, if you like. See 'The Monk's Bride' by Pacioli. It's pretty well-written too. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, too!


	11. Gojyo's Lolita Complex

AN: I realize I have been extremely lax in the explanations of the story, so I shall try and explain as much as I can now. I have read through the Saiyuki manga, especially volume 4, and I realized that after the village chief spoke to Hakkai--or Gono, as the matter may be--the scene changed to him looking at his bloodied hands. Now, I might be wrong, but I had immediately inferred that he had actually killed those village people. For the purposes of this fic, he's deemed to have killed those village people.

And some of you guys might be confused over the shepherd Hecate had mentioned a few chapters back. The one Selene, the moon goddess, was purportedly to be fawning over. His name is Endymion. Other sources say that he's actually a prince, but again, for the purposes of this fic, I shall have to go with the theory that the man is actually a shepherd.

Right then, since I'm done, I shall leave you all to read on.

Enjoy, and please tell me what you think about it, as well as how I can make it better. Thanks so very much.

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Dedicated to: MysticInca, the dear soul who so kindly drew a lovely, lovely picture for me for 'Yukijurou'. I haven't thanked you yet, have I?

…

Damn it, he really had to stop making a habit out of helping little girls with their problems. Meihou, the persistent little girl who had pursued him doggedly for the better part of the day, held on to his hand. Her grip was tight, but in the deepening darkness, he felt her fear.

The silence of the surrounding forest was sudden and unfamiliar. Without realizing it, he was beginning to miss the usual sounds of the gang, and Jeep's usual purring. Goku would most probably make some stupid remark about now, and The Fan would make it's usual guest appearance.

__

Wonder what they're doing now, he thought idly. Having dinner, probably. _Damn monkey better save something for me when I get back, or else there'll be hell to pay._

"We getting there yet, Meihou?" he asked the little girl. They'd been walking for awhile now, and there was still no sign of life. The girl nodded hesitantly, skittish eyes darting here and there, as if expecting something to jump out at them any moment.

And then he saw it, a deep, dark house in the middle of nowhere. Was this it? _Most probably. Demons are not known for their brains._

Cracking his knuckles, he smirked and started forward. Well, this should be relatively easy.

"You ready, princess?"

He could almost hear her swallow. "Yeah."

…

"About damn time." Sanzo snapped as soon as the door clicked open and Hakkai and Goku stumbled in, laden with shopping bags of all kinds. The wench was still fast asleep, but he was still immensely annoyed by her nonetheless, for reasons he could not—and did not want to—identify.

Hakkai chuckled as he set the things down on the table. "What's wrong, Sanzo? You look irritated."

"My cigarettes," he told him, holding out a hand for the blessed things. He needed his nicotine fix—FAST—before he smacked someone. Goku was looking like a very good target at the moment. "Did you people have to take so long?"

"Well, we made a few pit stops to buy things for Goku," Hakkai admitted sheepishly. "So I'm afraid we wasted quite a bit of money."

Sanzo shrugged. Despite what he said about not feeding the monkey, he still didn't really bother about how the money was spent one way or another. Those damn gods had caused him enough grief, saddling them with a _woman,_ of all things, and it was time for some payback. "It's not my money, anyway."

Hakkai nodded, and glanced over at the sleeping Qing. "How is she?"

"Fine," Sanzo shrugged impassively as he lit a cigarette and inhaled, glad to have nicotine in his system once again. "How does the city look, anyway?"

"It's nice and lively." Hakkai paused, thinking for a moment. "However, there's a strange rumor about…"

"Rumor?"

"It seems like there's a demon dwelling in the forest, just a little to the west of the city. There are a lot of people missing near that general vicinity recently. They say 'missing', but I suppose it's the work of that demon."

"Yeah!" Goku cheered once he had appropriated a spot of silence. He had been dying to say this for ages! "Anyway, guess what I saw today? GOJYO was dating a girl this LITTLE!" He placed his forefinger and thumb slightly away from each other. Technically it wouldn't be possible because the kid would be no larger than an insect—and it was statistically impossible to hold hands with a bug—but such was the nature of exaggeration.

Sanzo stared at him for a moment, unimpressed. "Shut up."

Goku sighed and threw up his hands. What kind of reaction had he expected, anyway? "Well, there's an adult for you."

"What should we do?" Hakkai asked quietly, continuing the conversation. "Either way, we have to go through those woods."

Sanzo exhaled slowly, making a decision as a long stream of smoke curled in the air. "Let's go and check it out."

…

This place was very much unlike any place she had ever been before. First off, it looked like some kind of scientific facility. Secondly, where was everyone? _That noisy one, that Nii…Jienyi, was it? _Where was that man now?

Nevertheless, Six walked along the dimly-lit corridors, curious, but not in the least worried. There was no one here, she knew, who could possibly hurt her. Or if they could, she did not really care. What was that little bit of pain as compared to the one she carried constantly?

A scowl creased her eyebrows at the thought. All she had to do was to eliminate the source of that pain, and she would be free of it forever.

"Stop right there."

She stopped in her tracks and stayed quiet. Well, it was not like she could speak, or anything.

Soft footsteps whispered on the polished floors, and a dark-skinned, exceedingly handsome young man with red hair stepped out. Only…he didn't really look like a man. He had sharp, pointed ears, and equally sharp eyes that seemed to bore right through a person. Briefly, she wondered if he could read souls.

And why was he wearing earrings?

Six observed the oddly dressed…person, taking him in. His clothes were obviously biker dude inspired, and yet he moved with a smooth, almost regal bearing that disoriented her. A prince in biker wear?

It seemed like he was studying her, too, and did not really like what he was seeing, for there was a light, almost disapproving frown on his features.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" His voice was soft, yet the undercurrent of command did not evade her. He was obviously used to having his every word obeyed to the letter.

__

I'm here…to see the Empress Gyokumen. She had learned of the Empress's name from a lab technician, and had discovered where she was. A hell-hole called Tenjiku, where it seemed like demons and a handful of humans thrived. That was fine with her. Although she had never really seen demons before, she had fought enough of them for it not to really matter anymore.

The worst demons were not the ones who were physical. It was those that you could not see that were deadly.

The ones that could really kill you.

Kougaiji blinked at the sudden, alien voice that had invaded his brain. _Did she just…?_

She saw the surprise in his eyes, and wondered if this demon person was as evil as the others in this damned place. She had not seen many demons when she wandered, but the ones she had seen had an undercurrent of brutality and evil to them she almost welcomed.

Anything was better than blind grief.

__

I can read you like a freaking book, demon. She told him, filled with caustic amusement. She couldn't read minds, but she could damn well pretend to. _Why are you so surprised that I can speak like this?_

Kougaiji scowled, not impressed in the least. Who did this woman think she was? "You'd better—"

"Lord Kougaiji!"

"Kou!"

Distracted, Kougaiji turned to see a breathless Yaone and Dokugakuji hurrying up to him.

Yaone was the first to speak. "Lord Kougaiji," she began, so intent on her message that she did not notice the young woman standing to the side. "The Empress Gyokumen wants us to search for—"

"Is that her?" Dokugakuji asked curiously. Well, she matched the description, all right. That ridiculous-looking lab rat uniform and lab sandals, with dark, ratty looking dreadlocks that tumbled around her shoulders. However, she looked like she had not seen a decent bath in days. Brilliant blue eyes focused on him silently, looking almost intrigued. A long, angry-looking scar ran down the left side of her face, ending at her almost-delicate looking jawline.

So this was the Sorceress that they were all talking about?

Yaone paused, noticing the young woman for the first time. It was obvious that she was surprised to see her there. "I…guess so. The description fits, doesn't it?"

"Who?" Kougaiji asked impatiently. What were they talking about?

"The Empress is searching for the Sorceress, Lord Kougaiji," Yaone said, rushing to explain. "Apparently, Scientist Nii found her—I'm not sure where from—and told the Empress that she was of use to her."

__

That overbearing bitch again, Kougaiji thought darkly, thoughts of his stepmother immediately souring his mood. Whatever it was, he was sure that she was planning something nasty. Again.

__

Where is she?

All three of them jumped. None of them had been expecting a loud, sudden question—in their heads, no less. Yaone and Dokugakuji looked startled. Kougaiji simply scowled and glared at her. "Could you kindly speak out loud?"

__

I can't. Came the simple answer. If not for the fact that she had blinked at that moment, one could have mistaken her for a statue. Her face was calm, but they could sense the agitation simmering beneath.

"Why are you so eager to see the Empress?" Dokugakuji questioned, not liking her in the least. This human was just too strange and too silent. And of course, people who spoke in his brain were just too unnerving. What if she could read minds?

__

Do I have to answer to you?

He scowled, offended by the entirely-too-impertinent remark. "You—"

__

Take me to the Empress. She had turned to Yaone expectantly, bright blue eyes fixated on the beautiful demoness. Yaone looked to her master quickly, in askance of silent consent, for she did nothing without his approval.

He nodded curtly. He was the Prince, after all. He deserved the right to know what was going on in the castle. The fact that the Empress would use a human…Sorceress as a pawn in her plans was curious, indeed. "Let's go."

…

Gojyo pushed open the door to the dilapidated cottage. "Pardon us!" He called out casually, noting that there was no movement of any kind he could sense in the house.

"Looks like no one's here," Meihou said quietly behind him, still clinging to his hand.

Shrugging, they entered the house. _Ready or not, here we come. _Gojyo glanced around at the dark surroundings; although his stance was relaxed, there was no doubt that he would be able to kick serious ass if the need arose. _Shit, should have left Meihou where she was safe._

He stopped suddenly, something tickling at the edges of the awareness. Something was definitely wrong here.

"W-what's wrong?" the little girl asked almost fearfully.

"Something's fishy." He grunted.

"W-what is it?"

He scowled into the deepening darkness. _This place looks like any other house, but something's not right. It's like we're stuck inside a dollhouse or something. And there's the stink of demonic aura filling every inch of the house. _He had not sensed it at first, when he was entering, but now that he was inside, the stench was stronger than ever.

The most aggravating thing about it was that there was no way to pinpoint the source of the smell. He stiffened. It was getting stronger.

Apparently, Meihou could sense it too, for she clung onto him a little tighter, her eyes fixed on something in the darkness. "Gojyo…over there."

His gaze ticked to the place she was staring at, and he frowned. "Behind the door?"

Without further ado, he kicked the door open, and was taken aback at the sight of a huge green brain-like creature that filled almost the entire space. Within the eerily glowing green brain, he could barely make out the shapes of unconscious people tangled within the vines of the thing. Truly, it was the most hideous thing he'd ever seen. "What the hell?"

Meihou, for one, freaked out and lunged forward. "Everyone!"

Gojyo held onto her tightly. "Wait," he snapped gruffly.

She was struggling against him. Why was he stopping her now? She had to help them before they got eaten! "Let me go!"

"Give it a rest, you idiot," Gojyo was scowling at the thing, his entire body tense and ready for action. Somehow, getting the people out of here would not be as easy as she thought it would be.

Whipping out his shakujou, he smirked as he slammed it into the ground, the lethal blade cutting right through the floor and down into where he sensed the thing's roots would be.

The brain-thing screamed in pain, and he could see the network of roots—brilliant, glowing green roots—through the floor.

It was then that all hell broke loose. He could feel the house around them change shape, twisting and writhing as it resumed it's original, brain-like form.

"We're right in the belly of the whale," Gojyo remarked with a shrug. "Anyway, we're getting out of here, all right?"

As they both turned to leave, the pulsing, giant blobs bulged menacingly in front of them. Meihou screamed, terrified. "Yeah, I figured this would happen." Gojyo said, as he pushed the little girl towards the exit. "Run for it!"

As they turned to flee, a vine wrapped around Meihou's leg and tugged. It was only by virtue of Gojyo's lightning reflexes that had prevent her from being sucked into the thing.

Slicing through another vine that had looked to wrap around the girl's waist, Gojyo grabbed her up and moved to beat a hasty retreat. The vines, however, were not so lenient. Another whipped out towards him, and he hacked at the vine, shattering it to little pieces.

Grabbing Meihou's hand, he dragged her towards the exit. Of course, the vines were not staying idle. One of those huge lumps sped towards them, and was dangerously close when Gojyo shouted,

"Jump, Meihou!"

Even as they narrowly escaped the lump, a multitude of vines shot out at them. Once again, Gojyo slashed them to bits, using his own body as a shield for the terrified little girl. "I hate people who just don't know how to quit!" His last word was punctuated with a solid slash to a bunch of those damned vines.

"Gojyo!" Meihou shouted. "The doorway!"

True enough, the vines were racing to cover the exit, and were rapidly gaining success. "Tch," Gojyo muttered, scowling. Damn things really could move. In a flash, he had slammed his shakujou to stop the exit from closing up. Unfortunately, they were closing in on the weapon, and there was no way he could get it out without being smashed to death. Meihou, who had squeezed out of there, turned and shouted, "Gojyo, hurry!"

Grunting with exertion—the damn vines were now wrapped tightly over his fists, preventing further movement—he shook his head. "Looks like it ain't gonna be so easy."

"Gojyo!" she screamed, running towards him. The huge monster was about to smother him, and she needed to do something, fast!

"Stay away from here!" he shouted. "Just get outta the way and get the hell out of here!"

She looked close to tears, and did not budge from where she was about to jump in and join him. "But Gojyo, you're—you're—"

Gojyo smiled wryly, his eyes surprisingly tender. It had always been his fatal flaw, giving it his all for the sake of the fairer sex, or for his friends. When was he going to learn to not be so stupid? _Does it matter, though? _He was sure that if he had another chance, he would choose this path all over again. It was how he is, he supposed. "Man," he shook his head. "Am I soft on women."

Those were his last words before the demon closed on him.

Meihou screamed. "No! _GOJYO!"_

…

Hakkai spun, his sharp hearing picking it up almost immediately. "That voice…!"

Goku had obviously heard it too, for he had stopped in his tracks and was gazing in the general direction of the sound. "See, I told you they were together!"

Qing, who was a little groggy from the ingestion of painkillers and being roused from sleep, said a little dazedly. "It sounds like a kid."

Goku turned to her excitedly, distracted. "Oh, didn't I tell you? I saw Gojyo dating a girl _this _big!" And there he went again with the insectoid comparison.

"Oh," she said vaguely. "That's nice."

…

Gojyo stared impassively at the chuckling demon who had slowly risen in front of him. He would've liked to smack the bastard a good one, but unfortunately, he was a tad bit incapacitated at the moment, having being almost wrapped up from head to toe in vines.

"Well, well, what a surprise." The demon drawled. "I never expected anyone to become my food of their own accord." He leered at him hungrily.

"What's the matter, you don't get any visitors?"

"So you still can run your smart-ass mouth." The demon noted. "You've got guts."

"I'm good with my mouth, at least." Gojyo replied. Now, if only a woman was here to get that particular innuendo…

"You," the demon snarled, a little off-balance by Gojyo's calm. Most of his victims had been brought here kicking and screaming, and here this guy was, making conversation. "Who the hell are you?"

"Well," Gojyo smirked, still as cool as ever. He had sensed that his lack of terror had disoriented the demon, and was looking forward to toying with the bugger a little more. Who knows, maybe he might be off-kilter enough for him to get a few hits in. "Who knows?"

The demon took that in, and then shrugged. "Well, who cares? You're dead anyway."

"Before I die, can I ask you something?" Without waiting for him to answer, Gojyo continued. "Are those people still alive?"

"Yeah. Fresh food tastes best, don't you think?"

"I see. How sensible of you."

"But I've decided to kill you right away."

The kappa was not impressed, to say the least. "Ooh, scary. Why is that?"

"Because you smell dangerous, that's why!"

Well. At least the damn demon was not as stupid as he looked. Gojyo barely had time to dwell on that before a whole wall of vines shot out towards him. Helpless, he closed his eyes and waited for the killing—

—what was that sound?

The next thing he knew, there was a bright, blinding light, and he barely made out Goku's fist as it smashed against the wall of vines, shattering them and socking the demon a good one in the jaw.

The light subsided, and Gojyo recognized the earlier sound as Sanzo's ever-so-handy S&W. He had never thought he would be so happy to hear it in his life.

"My goodness," he drawled, hiding his relief even as two figures appeared in the doorway. "Such impeccable timing."

Sanzo was smirking as he took in the sight of an incapacitated Gojyo. "Looking good over there, Gojyo."

"Yeah, yeah, can't deny it."

"Should we take a picture or something?" Hakkai asked happily. "I'm sure Miss Qing would like to see it, too."

"Hey, hey! Anything but that!"

Goku laughed. "Don't get bashful now, Gojyo."

With three precise shots, Gojyo was free from the vines, and of course, the butt-kicking began.

"Bastards," the demon growled, holding his swollen face. "When did you all—"

He barely had time to finish his sentence when Goku—battle cry and all—charged towards him and smashed his Nyoyi staff into him. The demon was faster, though, and the staff only hit the vines.

The demon moved to attack, but Hakkai sped in front of Goku, effectively blocking the blows. "Be careful, Goku!"

"Thanks!"

"Shit," Sanzo cursed, struggling to find out _where _the demon's weak spot was. It was no easy feat, given the fact that the interior of the demon's lair kept swirling. "This is gonna take forever!" He fired off a few more shots, destroying the vines that circled him.

"Hakkai!" Gojyo called, back in commission once more and happily hacking at the damn vines, clearing the ones that got too near. "Got any ideas, man?"

Hakkai thought about it for a moment. How the heck would he know? He'd been here a few seconds! "Well, I—" Movement to the top of the lair caught his eye, and he looked up. In the darkness of the area, a large eyeball glared down at him, moving slowly through the network of vines. "Ah!" he said cheerfully, pointing upwards. "How about aiming at that? It looks a lot like a weak spot."

Goku stared at it dubiously. "You sure about that?"

Gojyo and Sanzo, who were now back-to-back and busy dispelling errant vines, simply shrugged. Gojyo glanced up. "Let's bet on Hakkai's intuition, shall we?"

Sanzo acquiesced, his amusement obvious. "He's the gambler, after all."

"All right!" Leaping up towards his target, Gojyo prepared to sink his weapon into it when the demon appeared in front of him and blocked his way.

"Oh no, you don't!"

With one swift move, the demon disarmed him, almost sending Gojyo flying.

"Now," he said smugly. "You're disarmed. What will you do now?"

"Too bad for you," Gojyo responded, the sheer speed of his reflexes stunning the demon. "I'm stronger without my weapon!"

With one mighty kick, the demon himself was sent flying to the corners of the lair, leaving the eyeball open and fair game for him. Without wasting any time, Gojyo sank his fist deep into it, smashing the thin membrane and crushing the thing.

Almost immediately, the lair disintegrated around them, and the demon screamed as it disappeared with the lair.

It was over.

…

Qing, who was waiting outside with the frantic child, shrugged when she saw the disgusting brain-like thing implode. "Well," she remarked, as the girl looked on, wide-eyed. "Took them long enough."

Meihou looked up at her, impressed. "Does this happen to you guys very often?"

The young woman thought about it for a moment. "Well, giant brains out in the middle of nowhere isn't a common thing. But demons are always trying to kill us for one reason or another."

"Ohh…" Then her face split into a grin. "I bet Gojyo was really cool too, wasn't he?"

Qing briefly remembered Goku saying something about Gojyo dating the little girl, and tried not to laugh. It was obvious from Meihou's openly adoring gaze that she had some kind of a crush on him. And then again, who wouldn't? The guy was one of the most charismatic and handsome specimen of a man she had ever seen, and if she wasn't currently interested in someone else, she would've jumped him from the get go. "I guess so."

…

It was morning when they had gotten all the captives out. Meihou, for one, was overjoyed when her parents emerged from the destroyed lair, looking a little dazed. They perked up considerably, however, when the sight of their delighted daughter greeted them. "Mommy! Daddy!"

With a happy cry, she leapt into her mother's arms, and the little family huddled in a warm hug. It was obvious that Meihou's family, though not well-off, were still rich in affection for each other.

"Thank goodness you're all right." Her father said happily.

__

Oh yes, I almost forgot.

"Gojyo!" She yelled happily, running back to the group who was watching a little way away.

"I'm glad for you, Meihou." Gojyo told her, grinning.

"Gojyo…" What should she say?

He stared at her for a long, long moment, crimson eyes twinkling. Then he turned away; Sha Gojyo was not and never would be very good with goodbyes, especially with someone who had long grown on him. "Later." Then he remembered something. Kneeling down in front of her, he slipped the green necklace back around her neck. She had given it to him earlier as payment for helping her. "This wouldn't look good on me."

"But Gojyo," she protested. "I wouldn't have done anything to thank you!"

He shook his head. "I'll be back in ten years. That pendant'll help me find you." He winked at her suggestively. "And we can get nice and cosy then."

Meihou, still too young to fully understand what that meant, simply nodded. "Okay. Gojyo, thank you so much!"

…

And then they were back on the road again.

Gazing out at the desert landscape, Gojyo hid a small smile. _Ten years, huh? _For the gang who lived from day to day with no real thought for the future, he wondered if it was ever possible that he could see Meihou again. Would be still be alive, though? Did that matter? _Probably not, _he thought. At least he was back with the gang again. And speaking of… "So how come you guys showed up on cue like that, anyway?"

"I wanted to see your girlfriend." Sanzo drawled lazily from the front, where he had been dozing.

Gojyo gaped at that answer. "Ehhhh?"

Hakkai grinned. "We checked out the rumor mill in town. Apparently, someone matching your description went on a rampage through town and ran off into the forest with a little girl."

Qing snorted her amusement, remembering the starry-eyed looks Meihou kept giving him. She wondered if he noticed. "Two words, Gojyo. Jail. Bait."

"Hey! I wasn't—"

Goku, who was not above teasing the kappa, grinned suggestively and elbowed him in the side. "She was a cutie, wasn't she, Gojyo? Man, I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff."

__

What the…"You wanna try dying, you stinking monkey?"

"What? It's true, lolita kappa!"

Gojyo's eyes crossed.

"What the hell was that?" Then as he registered what the damn ape said, he pounced on him. "That IS IT, you little shitbag! DIE!"

And just when the fight was starting, a grumpy Sanzo—who had his sleep majorly disturbed by the usual raucous in the back—fired off a shot into the air and snarled. "Shut the fucking hell up, you idiots!"

…

AN: Ah yes, the end of another chapter. What did you think of this?

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Prettystupidgirl: Well, hello again! Thanks for the compliment, LOL. Ohh, you're doing a SanzoOC fic too? Cool. Put it up! Heaven knows we've got too little decent SanzoOC fics here…

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Sukilovesanime: Heya, thanks for reading this story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, too!

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MysticInca: Heyyy! It's so good to see your review again! I'm glad you like this story, heh. Thanks for your kind compliments, girl. You know it's always appreciated. And NO, this one I'm not going to let go. Man, it's SANZO. Anyway, this one's for you!

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Jessicagreen: Thanks for your review, it's very much appreciated. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

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Risika Tziporah: All the best, then!

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Steph: Heya, I'm sorry if it was too choppy. I haven't properly mastered the art of shifting from one place to another. LOL I'll keep your review in mind, and will never do it again. Many apologies if it was a little too choppy and confusing. Rest assured that I will be working on that. Anyway, it's good to hear from you again! Hee, I know the wait was a little too long, but now I've got time to put up chapters regularly, so look out for 'em!

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KaiKai Cutie: Thanks!


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